back-to-back
/ˌbæk tə ˈbæk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌbæk tə ˈbæk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbak-tə-ˈbak/ (ame, mw)
back-to-back — adjective
1. happening so that one thing follows the next immediately, with no other event in
happening so that one thing follows the next immediately, with no other event in between.
The team won three back-to-back championships between 2018 and 2020.
back-to-back championships
Neha had back-to-back meetings all morning and barely had time for lunch.
The train station reported back-to-back delays on the red line this evening.
The company posted back-to-back quarterly losses for the first time in a decade.
Olivia booked back-to-back flights from Seoul to Vancouver and felt jet-lagged for a week.
- consecutive
more formal; used in statistics, sports records, and formal reports
- successive
slightly more formal; emphasises the order without the sense of tight scheduling
- separate
not happening one after the other; with gaps between
- alternating
arranged with something else in between each item
文法句型
back-to-back + plural noun
用法筆記
This sense is almost always used attributively — directly before the noun it modifies.
常見錯誤
2. arranged with the rear sides of two objects touching or very close, so that the
arranged with the rear sides of two objects touching or very close, so that the front sides point away from each other.
The two armchairs were placed back-to-back in the centre of the living room.
placed back-to-back
Yuna and Chen sat on back-to-back benches in the school courtyard without realising it.
The houses on Elm Street are built back-to-back and share a common rear wall.
The library installed two rows of back-to-back shelves to save floor space.
- facing away
informal; describes the direction the fronts point without specifying that backs touch
- face-to-face
positioned with fronts pointing towards each other
- side by side
arranged next to each other with fronts facing the same direction
文法句型
be + back-to-back
back-to-back + noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (CONSECUTIVE): this sense describes physical position, not sequence. It can be used predicatively ('stood back-to-back') or attributively ('back-to-back houses').
常見錯誤
back-to-back — noun
1. a type of small house built as part of a long connected block, where the back wa
a type of small house built as part of a long connected block, where the back wall touches another row of houses behind it.
The old back-to-backs in Leeds were demolished to make way for new apartments.
the old back-to-backs
Mei grew up in a small back-to-back with her grandparents and three siblings.
The city still has several streets of Victorian back-to-back houses near the canal.
Living in a back-to-back meant the kitchen window looked directly at the neighbour's wall.
- terraced house
broader term in British English; a terraced house shares side walls but does not necessarily have another row behind it
- row house
American English term for a house in a continuous row
文法句型
the + back-to-backs
a row of back-to-backs
用法筆記
Chiefly British. In the US the same concept is called a 'row house' or 'townhouse', though the double-row (back-to-back) configuration is uncommon. Frequently appears in the plural form 'back-to-backs' when referring to this type of housing generally.
常見錯誤
2. a pair of games played by the same sports team on two consecutive days, especial
a pair of games played by the same sports team on two consecutive days, especially in basketball or baseball.
The basketball team has three back-to-backs scheduled in January alone.
three back-to-backs
After two tough back-to-backs, the players needed a full day off to recover.
Sofia prefers afternoon games but always struggles during evening back-to-backs.
The coach complained about the number of back-to-backs in the regular season this year.
- consecutive games
more general and formal; describes the schedule without using sports jargon
文法句型
play + back-to-backs
have + number + back-to-backs
用法筆記
Chiefly American sports journalism. Not used for games on the same day (that is a 'double-header'). A 'back-to-back' specifically means games on consecutive days.