backhander
"backhander" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“backhander” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A glass of wine given out of turn, the bottle having been handed backwards.
Corpus desk
Index EN-backhander · backhander · English
backhander · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | backhander |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “backhander” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
backhander is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for backhander in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From backhand + -er (patient suffix) or -er (agent noun suffix). The correct English form is backhander, spelled B-A-C-K-H-A-N-D-E-R.
Definition
- 1A glass of wine given out of turn, the bottle having been handed backwards.
- 2A blow with the back of the hand.
- 3A bribe, a secret payment.
- 4A shot played backhand, a backhand stroke.
- 5A player who plays a backhand shot.
- 6A surfer who approaches a swell with the wave behind them ("on their backhand") rather than facing the wave ("on their forehand").
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how backhander appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
She's a terrific backhander.
The morning brought an increased swell; long, perfect, down-the-line, 6-8' freight trains — a forehander's dream and a backhander's nightmare
Etymology
From backhand + -er (patient suffix) or -er (agent noun suffix).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.