Backwards means in the direction opposite to the usual or forward way. When you walk backwards, you move toward what's behind you instead of what's ahead. When you read backwards, you start at the end and work toward the beginning, or you might read words from right to left instead of left to right.

The word also describes doing something in reverse order. If you put your shirt on backwards, the tag ends up in front instead of in back. If you count backwards from ten, you say “10, 9, 8...” instead of “1, 2, 3...” A backwards somersault rolls you in the opposite direction from a regular one.

Sometimes backwards means the opposite of progress or improvement. When someone says a community is moving backwards, they mean conditions are getting worse instead of better. You might also hear someone say they know a subject backwards and forwards, which means they understand it completely, from every angle.

The word can describe regions or attitudes that resist change or new ideas, though this usage can sound judgmental. A more neutral way to describe resistance to change is to say something is traditional or old-fashioned.

Notice that backward (without the 's') can work the same way: you can walk backward or backwards, look backward or backwards. Both forms are correct.