backwards

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"And I had to sort of go backwards and piece together what had happened."

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

“I saw part of that, and what really freaked me out was when she was crawling up upside down and backwards down the stairs — kind of like the spider.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

"It can hover like a helicopter, fly forwards like an aircraft, but equally brake in midair or fly backwards," marketing chief Andrea Marchsteiner told AFP.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

You don’t arrive at a chapter and then find yourself needing to frantically page backwards to try to find the previous reference to a person or event, because it will already be present.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

Aristotelian philosophers looked backwards, assuming Aristotle had known everything that needed to be known; the new scientists looked forward, aiming to expand the limited range of topics in which they could make satisfactory predictions.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton