What does “behind” mean?
- 1
prepositionat or toward the back of something
The garden is behind the house.
- 2
adverbslower or later than others or than planned
We’re a week behind on this project.
- 3
prepositionbeing the cause of something
Who was behind the plan?
Behind at a glance
- Part of speech
- preposition & adverb
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /bɪˈhaɪnd/ · bih-HYND
How to use “behind” correctly
“Leave something behind” means to forget to bring it: “I left my keys behind.”
Common phrases with “behind”
- leave sth behind
- fall behind
- behind schedule
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- in front of
- ahead
Idioms with “behind”
- Behind the times: Old-fashioned, or not aware of modern ideas and methods.
“behind” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- above prepositionA1in or to a higher position than something
- around prepositionA1on every side of something, or in a circle
- between prepositionA1in the space that separates two things or people
- inside prepositionA1in or into a building, container or space
- near prepositionA1a short distance from something
- over prepositionA1above or across something
- under prepositionA1below or lower than something
- across prepositionA2from one side to the other side of something