backbend

noun

back·​bend ˈbak-ˌbend How to pronounce backbend (audio)
1
: a movement (as in gymnastics) in which from a standing position with the knees straight the body is arched backward until the hands touch the floor over the head
2
: a posture or pose (as in yoga) that extends the front of the body and bends the spine backwards
… this action supports your lower back and generates a strong lift of the belly out of the pelvis to help release the spine into a deep backbend.Barbara Benagh

Examples of backbend in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Under Hutchinson, who arrived in 1977, Inglewood adopted the show style — with its energetic mash-up of music and dance, high-stepping, swaying and gravity-defying backbends — which at the time was largely absent on the West Coast. Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2024 Callahan, 13, contorts herself into a backbend as 7-year-old Hudson fiddles with a balloon and 10-year-old Keegan plays the piano. Heather Hollingsworth, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2023 Here's how to do a mobilization backbend: Start in a split stance, with one foot slightly behind you and the heel slightly raised. Jacqueline Andriakos, Health, 18 Aug. 2023 Goldie Hawn said farewell to a vacation by the Aegean Sea with a standing backbend furthered by the stunning natural scenery. Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 25 June 2023 See all Example Sentences for backbend 

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of backbend was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near backbend

Cite this Entry

“Backbend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backbend. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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