back end

¹ American  

[bak end] / ˈbæk ˈɛnd /

back-end,

noun

1. the rear part of something.

   I didn’t think my stage debut would entail playing the back end of a bull!

   My eyes followed the back end of the car, watching it slowly creep up the road and out of sight.

2. the later part of a process or span of time.

   The team has a chance to turn their season around, but they face a difficult back end of the schedule.

3. Computers. the parts of a computer program, website, system, network, etc., that the user does not see or directly interact with.

   The user information has all been updated in the back end.

   Our engineers can refurbish existing backends internally, improving structure and performance without altering the external behavior of the code.

4. the part of an organization or process that operates in the background or out of the public view.

   Tell us about the back end of your business, like your accounting and data processing systems.

5. British. the last few months of the year.

   The journal was published at the back end of last year.

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back-end ² American  

[bak-end] / ˈbækˌɛnd /

Or backend

adjective

1. Computers. being or relating to those parts of a computer program, website, system, network, etc., that the user does not see or directly interact with.

   Managed website hosting is for those who do not want to bother with a lot of the back-end stuff like updating apps and enabling automatic backups.

   We’re seeking an experienced back-end developer to help complete the development of our mobile education platform.

2. being or relating to the part of an organization that operates in the background or out of the public view.

   The library is hoping to streamline many of their back-end administrative processes.

   The back-end legal and financial responsibilities of running a business are significant.

3. happening or incurred at or near the end of a process or span of time.

   We do not ever charge hidden back-end transaction fees.

   The young pitcher is shaping up to be a great middle or back-end reliever.

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back end British  

noun

1. dialect autumn

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adjective

1. (of money, costs, etc) required or incurred after a project has been completed

Etymology

Origin of back end¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Origin of back-end²

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

The pickup truck driver tried to edge off to the side of the road, but Woods swerved and clipped the back end of the trailer.

From The Wall Street Journal

Woods still clipped the back end of the trailer, resulting in the crash.

From The Wall Street Journal

Key back end software from companies like SAP and Oracle run on these systems, and replacing these x86 servers could be a place where Arm AGI CPU could find success.

From Barron's

Like FedEx, large companies across America are sorting through the technical back end, guardrails and policies that will form the basis for their fleet of AI agents.

From The Wall Street Journal

From the little window in my room I could just see the back end of the moving truck parked in front of her house.

From Literature

Related Words

• back
• back door
• backside
• bottom
• butt
• rear end
• tail