Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Dictionary

1backcross

verb back·cross \ˈbak-ˌkrȯs\

Definition of BACKCROSS

transitive verb
:  to cross (a first-generation hybrid) with one of the parental types
ADVERTISEMENT

First Known Use of BACKCROSS

1904

Rhymes with BACKCROSS

across, brown sauce, bugloss, club moss, crisscross, duck sauce, emboss, Greek cross, hard sauce, Kinross, kouros, lacrosse, oakmoss, outcross, pathos, peat moss, pit boss, Red Cross, ringtoss, straw boss, tau cross, topcross, uncross, white sauce

2backcross

noun

Definition of BACKCROSS

:  a mating that involves backcrossing; also :  an individual produced by backcrossing

First Known Use of BACKCROSS

1918

Learn More About BACKCROSS

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: backdatePrevious Word in the Dictionary: backcourtmateAll Words Near: backcross
ADVERTISEMENT
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries