Back crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Back” are GAME, REAR or HIND, with 4 letters. Below are 89 answers from 3 to 13 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

AFT 3 letters · adjective

(nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail

GAME 4 letters · verb

place a bet on

COVER 5 letters · noun

the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book

SECOND 6 letters · verb

give support or one's approval to “I'll second that motion”

SUPPORT 7 letters · verb

be behind; approve of

REARWARD 8 letters · adverb

at or to or toward the back or rear “she looked rearward out the window of the car”

POSTERIOR 9 letters · noun

a tooth situated at the back of the mouth

RESTORATION 11 letters · noun

getting something back again

REPERCUSSION 12 letters · noun

a movement back from an impact

RECIPROCATION 13 letters · noun

alternating back-and-forth movement

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, GAME, REAR, HIND, PUNT, GAGE and FIND all fit. The first letter settles most of it: G → GAME, GAGE · R → REAR · H → HIND · P → PUNT · F → FIND. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, COVER, STAKE, SPINE, SMALL, DRIVE and TABLE all fit. The second letter tells them all apart: O → COVER · T → STAKE · P → SPINE · M → SMALL · R → DRIVE · A → TABLE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 3 squares, AFT, COB, EBB and LOP all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: A → AFT · C → COB · E → EBB · L → LOP. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “backed” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “back” means

• verb: be behind; approve of (“I backed Kennedy in 1960”)
• verb: travel backward (“back into the driveway”)
• verb: give support or one's approval to (“I can't back this plan”)
• verb: cause to travel backward (“back the car into the parking spot”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as BACK, and words whose definition is BACK. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.