Meaning of behind In English

• 0 at the back (of):

  • Look behind you!

  • I hung my coat behind the door.

  • Alex led, and I followed along behind.

  • mainly UK As hard as she tried, she always fell behind the other swimmers in the races.

  • figurative I knew that behind (= hidden by) her smile was sadness.

• 1 in the place where someone or something was before:

  • I was annoyed to discover that I'd left my bag behind.

  • After the party a few people stayed behind to help clean up.

• 2 slower or later than someone else, or than you should be:

  • The old woman was behind with (= late paying) the rent.

• 3 responsible for or the cause of:

  • He wondered what was behind his neighbour's sudden friendliness.

  • Marie Curie was the woman behind enormous changes in the science of chemistry.

• 4 the part of the body on which a person sits:

  • He tripped and fell on his behind.

  • Why don't you get off your behind (= stand up) and do something!

• 5 in or to the back (of):

  • The sun came out from behind the clouds.

  • He opened the door and went in, pulling it shut behind him.

  • A police car pulled up behind us.

  • I realized I’d left my umbrella behind (= in the place I had left).

  • What was the motive behind the bombing?

• 6 the part of the body on which a person sits; the buttocks

• 7 to be late in paying a regular amount of money or in completing work:

  • They offer advice to people who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.

  • He lost his job and fell behind with his rent.

  • The company is an unacceptable six months behind in paying suppliers and vendors.

• 8 less successful, or making less progress than someone or something else:

  • BMW ranks only 14th among the world's automakers, ahead of Mazda and behind Mitsubishi in global unit sales.

  • The company's poor performance leaves it lagging 30% behind the average pension fund over the past 18 months.

• 9 responsible for causing something:

  • Such thinking was the driving force behind the company's success.

  • They suspected that something more significant might be behind the rise in share prices.

  • She has shares in the company behind the hit television gameshow.

• 10 to support someone in what they are doing:

  • He has the support of the whole company - we're all behind him.

  • I'm 100% behind the project.

• 11 moving slower or happening later than the planned time:

  • The cancellation came after the project was millions of dollars over budget and months behind schedule.