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backbite definition

back·bite (-bīt′)

transitive verb, intransitive verb backbit -·bit′ (-bit′), backbitten -·bit′·ten (-bit′'n) or backbit -·bit′, backbiting -·bit′·ing

to speak maliciously about (an absent person); slander

Etymology: ME bakbiten: see back & bite

Related Forms:

  • backbiter back′·bit′er (-bīt′ər) noun

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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