# backbite

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
2. To attack from behind or when out of earshot with spiteful or defamatory remarks.
3. To speak badly of an absent individual.

## Etymology
From Middle English bakbiten, bacbiten, equivalent to back- + bite. Cognate with Icelandic bakbíta (“to backbite, vilify”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/backbite