Aback (Adverb)
Meaning 1
By surprise; "taken aback by the caustic remarks".
Examples
- She was caught aback by the news of her sister's engagement to her ex-boyfriend.
- The audience was taken aback by the comedian's provocative jokes at the awards show.
- Being reprimanded by the teacher left the student taken aback and speechless.
- The tourists were caught aback by the rude behavior of the locals in the small town.
- The unexpected visit from her estranged father left her taken aback and unsure how to react.
Meaning 2
Having the wind against the forward side of the sails; "the ship came up into the wind with all yards aback".
Examples
- The crew adjusted the sails to compensate for the shift in wind direction, keeping everything aback to prevent the ship from losing momentum.
- As the ship turned sharply into the gust, its yards immediately came aback, putting tremendous strain on the rigging.
- The sailors expertly managed to reposition the vessel's yards aback to ride out the intense squall.
- Sailing up into the strong headwinds, the team struggled to keep the sails from filling incorrectly, with the yards often coming aback.
- The boating manual cautioned sailors to adjust their sails accordingly and have yards aback when navigating against a strong gust of wind.