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Definition of Aback
1. Adverb. Having the wind against the forward side of the sails. "The ship came up into the wind with all yards aback"
2. Adverb. By surprise. "Taken aback by the caustic remarks"
Definition of Aback
1. adv. Toward the back or rear; backward.
2. n. An abacus.
Definition of Aback
1. Adverb. (archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards; behind. ¹
2. Adverb. By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. ¹
3. Adverb. (nautical) Backward against the mast; said of the sails when pressed by the wind from the "wrong" (forward) side. ¹
4. Noun. (obsolete) An abacus. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Aback
1. toward the back [adv]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Aback
Literary usage of Aback
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative by Richard Henry Dana (1911)
"This unwonted cry sent a thrill through the heart of every one, and, hurrying on
deck, we found the vessel hove flat aback, with all her studding-sails set; ..."
2. Sons and Lovers by David Herbert Lawrence (1922)
"All right," he answered, rather taken aback. ' if I ask Edgar, he '11 always come
with us, and then th can say nothing." " And you won't think about it, ..."
3. Harper's Cyclopaedia of British and American Poetry edited by Epes Sargent (1882)
"Avast! nor don't think me a milksop so soft To be taken by trifles aback ; For
they say there's a Providence sits up aloft, To keep watch for the life of ..."
4. The Living Age by Making of America Project, Eliakim Littell, Robert S. Littell (1868)
"... of the field aback of the Low Meadow. I'll go and look for it to-morrow."
«4 shall be so glad if you find it," exclaimed Agnes, turning to him brightly, ..."
5. The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by George Ripley (1858)
"aback, a sea term. The sails of a ship яте said to be taken aback when by the
force of the wind they are made to press against tho masts. ..."
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