backscatter
noun, verb
backscatter is spelled B-A-C-K-S-C-A-T-T-E-R: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, backscatter means “The deflection of particles or radiation through angles greater than 90 degrees to the original direction of travel” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of backscatter is backscatters.
How many letters and syllables are in backscatter?
| Letters | 11: B-A-C-K-S-C-A-T-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is backscatter?
Backscatter appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce backscatter?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-backscatter.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with backscatter
Also written: back-scatter (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of backscatter
- backscatters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- back scatter
- back-scatter
- backscattering participle, present
- backscattered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does backscatter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The deflection of particles or radiation through angles greater than 90 degrees to the original direction of travel.
- 2
The particles or radiation deflected in this manner.
- 3
A portion of the energy of electromagnetic radiation such as a laser or radio waves that is scattered back in the direction of the source of radiation by an obscurant.
- 4
The sending of IP packets to essentially random addresses in response to incoming packets that have a spoofed origin.
verb
- 1
To scatter particles or radiation back to the direction from which they originate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does backscatter come from?
Back-formation from backscattering.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).