backbit

A woman backbits her coworker during a coffee break.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To slander someone in their absence: "backbit" means to speak maliciously about someone who is not present. It is the past tense form of the irregular verb "backbite."

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • He backbit his colleague at the meeting, spreading false rumours about her work. (He spoke negatively about her behind her back.)
  • She regretted that she had backbit her friend during a private conversation. (She felt remorse for slandering her friend when the friend was not there.)

Advanced Usage

• "to backbit" is rarely used in modern English; it is more common to see the present tense "backbite" or the noun "backbiting." The past tense "backbit" appears mostly in literary or formal contexts.
  • The politician was known to have backbit his rivals in secret. (He slandered them privately.)

Variants and Related Words

• Backbite (verb, present tense): to slander someone in their absence.
  • It is unkind to backbite others. (To speak ill of them behind their backs.)
• Backbiting (noun): the act of slandering someone who is not present.
  • Office gossip often leads to backbiting. (Malicious talk about absent colleagues.)
• Backbiter (noun): a person who engages in backbiting.
  • She is known as a backbiter in the community. (Someone who speaks ill of others behind their backs.)

Synonyms

• Slander: to make false spoken statements that damage someone's reputation.
• Defame: to damage the good reputation of someone through false statements.
• Malign: to speak evil of someone; to harm their reputation with falsehoods.

Phrasal Verbs

• Talk behind someone's back: to speak about someone negatively when they are not present.
  • They often talk behind her back instead of addressing issues directly. (They backbite her.)

Related Idioms

• Bite the hand that feeds you: to harm someone who helps you, often through backbiting.
  • By spreading rumours, he bit the hand that feeds him. (He backbit his benefactor.)