backswept

[ bak-swept ]

adjective

1. slanting backward or away from the front.
2. Aeronautics. sweptback.

backswept

/ ˈbækˌswɛpt /

adjective

1. slanting backwards
2. another word for sweptback

Word History and Origins

Origin of backswept¹

First recorded in 1915–20; back ² + swept

Example Sentences

Some images show her playing boss, her hair backswept, wearing items including a black leather trench coat and a scoop neck midi dress.

From Seattle Times

When you hear the air curdling, you don’t know at first if it’s wind or an 18-wheeler pushing down Interstate 10, and then there’s a roar, and backswept wings appear and disappear above you.

From New York Times

Maybe it was fate: with his rough-hewn features and leonine fall of backswept hair, Gold’s profile bears an uncanny resemblance to the man, Benjamin Franklin, depicted on the medal itself.

From The New Yorker

When he presented them to us, they generally appeared flawless: Ziggy Stardust in impossibly jaunty jumpsuits, the Thin White Duke and his backswept copper mane, the perfectly pastel pop star of Let’s Dance.

From Time

These little falcons are studies in minimalist design: their large eyes are surrounded by black antiglare markings, and their sharply pointed wings are held backswept in flight.

From New York Times