bend over backwards

Variant of backward

backward definition

back·ward (-wərd)

adverb

  1. toward the back or rear; behind
  2. with the back or rear foremost
  3. in reverse to spell a word backward
  4. in a way contrary to the normal or usual way
  5. toward earlier times; into the past
  6. from a better to a worse state

Etymology: ME bakward, for abakward < abak (< OE on bæc, back) + -ward (< OE -weard, toward)

adjective

  1. turned or directed toward the rear or in the opposite way
  2. hesitant, bashful, or shy, as in meeting people
  3. late in developing or growing; retarded; slow

Related Forms:

backward Idioms

bend over backward

☆
  1. to try to an unusual degree (to please, pacify, etc.)
  2. to attempt to compensate, as for one's own bias, tendency, etc., with an extreme effort in the opposite direction

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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