backdoor

adjective

back·​door ˈbak-ˈdȯr How to pronounce backdoor (audio)
1
2
: involving or being a play in basketball in which a player moves behind the defense and toward the basket to receive a quick pass
a backdoor layup

Examples of backdoor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The company says the lawsuits are really a backdoor way to push back against federal immigration policy, and its pay rates are in line with Immigration and Customs Enforcement regulations. Arkansas Online, 3 June 2025 For high-income earners, the backdoor Roth IRA strategy offers an alternative, enabling contributions through a Traditional IRA followed by a Roth conversion. Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025 For example, clients in the U.K. can maximize their U.K. pension contributions (up to £60,000) while also making a backdoor Roth contribution in the U.S., effectively gaining exemptions in both countries. Brian Dunhill, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025 But Taillon didn’t have a good feel for it as the season got underway and instead relied on a backdoor cutter in those spots versus lefties. Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for backdoor

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of backdoor was in 1805

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Cite this Entry

“Backdoor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backdoor. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

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