What does behindhand mean?
"Behindhand" means being late or in arrears, particularly with respect to money owed or duties that should have been discharged by a given time. A person who is behindhand with their rent has not paid when payment was due; a correspondent who is behindhand with their letters has failed to reply promptly. The word functions both as an adverb ("to fall behindhand") and as an adjective describing such a state. Its tone is formal and slightly old-fashioned, and it survives most robustly in British English, especially in financial and literary contexts, while American speakers more often say "in arrears" or simply "behind on." The mild reproach built into the word makes it useful for describing not just lateness but a kind of habitual falling short. Formed transparently from "behind" plus "hand," it vividly pictures one's hand lagging after one's obligations — an image that has kept this compact, expressive word in careful writers' vocabularies for centuries.
In arrears or behind schedule; later than the proper or expected time.
"He fell behindhand with his subscriptions and had to settle up at year's end."
(Predicative) Being in a state of arrears or lateness.
"By March she was two months behindhand on the mortgage."
"Behindhand" literally fuses "behind" and "hand" — your hand is figuratively trailing behind where your obligations are.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of behindhand
"Behindhand" was formed in English during the sixteenth century from the existing adverb "behind" combined with the noun "hand," producing a compound that originally meant with the hands held back or tardy in action. It belongs to a small family of English compounds of the pattern preposition-plus-hand, alongside words like "beforehand" and "underhand." Its cognate connections run through "behind" itself, which descends from Old English "behindan," related to "hind" and "hinder." The word has been in continuous use since Early Modern English, though its frequency has declined in recent centuries.
How behindhand is actually used
"Behindhand" is somewhat formal and now chiefly British; it sounds slightly old-fashioned or literary in American English, where "in arrears" or "behind on" are more common. It typically carries a mildly disapproving connotation, suggesting negligence or financial embarrassment.
Easily confused with behindhand
"Underhand" means secret or deceptive, while "behindhand" means late or in arrears — the two rhyme but have unrelated meanings.