{ Back"ward (&?;), Back"wards (&?;), } adv. [Back, adv. + -ward.] 1. With the back in advance or foremost; as, to ride backward.

2. Toward the back; toward the rear; as, to throw the arms backward.

3. On the back, or with the back downward.

Thou wilt fall backward.
Shak.

4. Toward, or in, past time or events; ago.

Some reigns backward.
Locke.

5. By way of reflection; reflexively. Sir J. Davies.

6. From a better to a worse state, as from honor to shame, from religion to sin.

The work went backward.
Dryden.

7. In a contrary or reverse manner, way, or direction; contrarily; as, to read backwards.

We might have . . . beat them backward home.
Shak.

• Oriented toward the back; reversed
       The backwards lettering on emergency vehicles makes it possible to read in the rear-view mirror.
  
• (fig.): Behind current trends or technology.
       Modern medicine regards the use of leeches as a backwards practice.
  
• Toward the back.
       The cabinet toppled over backwards.
  
• In the opposite direction of usual.
       The clock did not work because the battery was inserted backwards.