backlog

noun

Definition of backlognext
as in inventory
a large number of jobs or items that are waiting to be finished or processed We have a huge backlog of orders yet to be filled.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of backlog And there is a backlog of companies seeking to list there, said Lorraine Tan at investment research firm Morningstar. — ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026 At the Port of Long Beach, its busiest container terminal had reported problems with some ship-to-shore cranes in July, with the backlogs persisting into August. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026 The courts’ backlog of cases shrank for the first time in nearly a decade in fiscal year 2025, and has done so again in fiscal 2026. — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Aug. 2026 The lack of clarity on what is considered most important can subsequently enable a maintenance backlog. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for backlog
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backlog
  1. inventory
  2. supply
  3. collection
  4. pile
  5. accumulation
  6. hoard
  7. cache
  8. stockpile
Noun
  • Hence, retail traders will gain a cheaper and more precise way to speculate on crude, but production, consumption, inventories and geopolitics will remain the dominant forces setting prices.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Long maintenance periods can reduce the number of submarines available for deployments even when the vessels remain counted in the fleet’s overall inventory.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of inventory
Noun
  • Now, Tokyo is investing elsewhere to shore up future supplies.
    — Katie Silver, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Industry experts generally expect crude oil and LNG tankers to be granted priority clearance due to their criticality to global energy supplies, while container ships and other cargo vessels may face longer wait times.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of supply
Noun
  • Unsurprisingly, the Elie Saab H&M collection plays up after-dark glamour, and just in time for holiday party season, too.
    — Tina Isaac-Goizé, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The trove of women’s bloomers, drawers, knickers, brassieres, corsets, and girdles is just a small part of the school’s historic clothing collection, with images shared by the University of Wyoming Libraries via JSTOR.
    — April White, JSTOR Daily, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of collection
Noun
  • The government still has not come up with a solution to the mountainous piles of rotting garbage that accumulate on the streets for months.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Cole went online, bought Steiffs by the piles, and lined the shelves of King’s bedroom.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of pile
Noun
  • The gradual accumulation of these substances in the body can disrupt normal physiological functions, ultimately leading to disease, impaired health, and, in severe cases, death.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The method could combat refuse accumulation and provide sustenance in remote or disaster locations — or in space someday.
    — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of accumulation
Noun
  • Hig captured their graffiti in the beginning of the film, and a hoard of them — covered in facepaint — attack both Cima and Pops’ camp as well as Bangley, who is left alone when Hig goes out to find Cima and Pops.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Further specialist analyses will help determine whether the Kojetín hoard had a comparable significance.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of hoard
Noun
  • Switzerland imagines Highsmith as a recluse in the Alps, closely guarding a cache of weapons and secrets after a lifetime spent writing mysteries.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Sign Up for Our Free Daily Newsletter NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory just dropped a new cache of photographs that capture the stunning beauty of different types of galaxies across the universe.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of cache
Noun
  • In March, the agency coordinated the release of 400 million barrels from these emergency oil stockpiles, the largest such intervention in its history.
    — Katie Silver, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Kiffin is almost certain to field explosive offenses and stockpile talent through the transfer portal.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of stockpile

Browse Nearby Words

backlashes
backlog
backlogs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Backlog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backlog. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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