backcourt

English

Etymology

From back +‎ court.

Noun

backcourt (plural backcourts)

  1. (chiefly Scotland) A courtyard behind a housing block or tenement building.
    • 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 77:
      Some backcourts had wee outside buildings. They had caved-in roofs and tile chimneys broke off and all smashed windows.
    • 2011 January 8, Brian McHugh, The Guardian:
      Each unique backcourt was an adventure playground with walls to be climbed, chasms to be leaped and dustbins to be raked through and pillaged.
    • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 16:
      'The locus is Crawford Street?' 'One of the backcourts sir, as far as I understand.'
  2. (basketball) A team's defensive half of the court; the part of the court where the other team's basket is located, or the guards playing in that area.
    • 2009 January 2, Howard Beck, “Knicks Will Continue to Be Walsh’s Work in Progress in 2009”, in New York Times‎[1]:
      So the Knicks, who began the season with a depleted frontcourt, have muddled through the last six weeks with a depleted backcourt as well.
  3. (handball) The area farthest from the opponent's goal around the nine-metre line, where a team's defensive centre players are located.
    • 2026, Julian Rux, “The probabilities that are going to shape the EHF EURO 2026”, in European Handball Federation‎[2]:
      It also shows Mathias Gidsel’s greatness, as he is the only backcourt player that ranks in the top 20 in both shot quality and shot making, something he regularly does in the German Bundesliga as well.

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

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