Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Made with the back of the dominant hand facing forward.
  • noun A backhand stroke or shot, as in tennis or hockey.
  • noun A position for controlling a ball or puck, in which the back of the dominant hand faces forward.
  • noun A catch made in baseball by reaching across the body with the palm turned toward the ball.
  • noun Handwriting characterized by letters that slant to the left.
  • adverb With a backhanded stroke or motion.
  • transitive verb To perform, catch, or hit with a backhand.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Writing which slopes backward or to the left: as, he writes backhand.
  • noun In tennis, the position behind the principal player.
  • Backhanded; unfavorable; unfair: as, a backhand influence.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A kind of handwriting in which the downward slope of the letters is from left to right.
  • noun (Sports) The stroke of a ball with a racket or paddle, in which head of the racket starts from the side of the body opposite to that of the arm in which the racket is held, and proceeds forward to meet the ball. Contrasted with forehand.
  • adjective Sloping from left to right; -- said of handwriting.
  • adjective rare Backhanded; indirect; oblique.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun tennis a stroke made across the chest from the off-hand side to the racquet hand side; a stroke during which the back of the hand faces the shot.
  • noun Handwriting that leans to the left
  • noun Ultimate Frisbee the standard throw; a throw during which the disc begins on the off-hand side and travels across the chest to be released from the opposite side.
  • noun The reverse side of the human hand.
  • verb to execute a backhand stroke or throw
  • verb to slap with the back of one's hand
  • adjective Of any left slanting handwriting
  • adjective In the backhand style
  • adjective ice hockey Of a play that uses the back side of the hockey stick

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb hit a tennis ball backhand
  • adjective (of racket strokes) made across the body with back of hand facing direction of stroke
  • adjective (of handwriting) having the letters slanting backward
  • noun a return made with the back of the hand facing the direction of the stroke

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From back +‎ hand

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Examples

  • Today's players are extraordinarily skilful but I would still like to see them hitting a running top-spin backhand in the manner of Rod Laver while using a wooden-framed racket that weighs double the ones they use now and has a sweet spot a quarter the size.

    Balls of fire risk extinguishing wow factor from long-range kicks Shaun Edwards 2010

  • If anyone out here has any tips on hitting a consistent top-spin backhand, please fax them to Doubleday.

    A Conversation with Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code 2010

  • Cory Stillman's backhand from a sharp angle bounced off the goal post, then Booth's backhand went between Ramo's legs.

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • He was replaced by Jonathan Quick after Stafford made it 4-0 just 3 minutes into the third period with a power-play goal on a backhand from the slot.

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • Kovalev's 18th goal on a backhand from the slot made it 3-2 on a power play 8: 37 into the second before Tanguay got his second goal of the game - his 14th - on another man advantage at 13: 46.

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • He added his second of the game - his ninth of the season - when he beat Elliott with a backhand from a sharp angle with 1: 53 remaining.

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • The Sharks finally were rewarded when Boyle slipped a 35-foot backhand from the corner under Roloson's left pad and off the back of his other leg with 5.5 seconds left in the period.

    USATODAY.com 2008

  • The Blues had the best two scoring chances of the first period, but Stempniak's break-in backhand rung of the left post 1: 36 into the game, and Kiprusoff stopped Dan Hinote at the top of the crease with 12 minutes to play.

    USATODAY.com 2007

  • He converted a rebound on his backhand from the edge of the crease for his 11th goal, while Brown was off for holding Clark.

    USATODAY.com 2007

  • His backhand is better, and his net play is more adept.

    Federer confident he can overcome French Open woes 2007

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