back-to-back

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

1
: facing in opposite directions and often touching
2
: coming one after the other : consecutive

back-to-back

2 of 2

noun

plural back-to-backs
1
British : a house that is connected in a row with other houses on each side and with a similar row of houses behind it
These were where the millworkers dwelt, the worst of them known as back-to-backs because that is how they were built, without intervening space.Geoffrey Moorhouse
2
sports : a sequence of two games scheduled to be played on consecutive days
Miami began to beat elite teams and was bloodlessly efficient in the second half of back-to-backs, winning 11 in a row over a three-month stretch, a sign of a team with toughness.Jack McCallum

Examples of back-to-back in a Sentence

Adjective or adverb the three movies in the series were filmed back-to-back so that the cast members wouldn't age visibly on screen the new governor was soon facing several back-to-back crises
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective or adverb
Devin Williams received back-to-back sentences of 25 years to life in prison for the fatal shootings of Maria and Benison Tran, who were shot at near point-blank range after Williams snuck into their Dublin home and confronted them in a fit of jealous rage. Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024 Cincinnati’s offense has moved the ball well, and has run double-digit plays on back-to-back drives. NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024 As autumn leaves fell, Detroiters milled in and out of polling locations on Tuesday, a consequential day in the battleground state of Michigan — the culmination of back-to-back campaign stops as presidential candidates sought votes in a tight race. Arpan Lobo, Nushrat Rahman, Natalie Davies, Lindsay Tague, Alexander Boesch, Sarah Moore, Sophia Jundy, Mikia Lawrence, Alec Mork, Siddhi Choubey and Sonja Krohn, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024 Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has made back-to-back claims greatly exaggerating his campaign event attendance figures. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for back-to-back 

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of back-to-back was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near back-to-back

Cite this Entry

“Back-to-back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-to-back. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!