backstop

noun/ˈbækˌstɑp/

Frequency rank: #18,637 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

a person or thing that acts as a final safeguard or support against failure.

Illustration for the English word “backstop”

Example sentence

The government will serve as the backstop to prevent the financial system from collapsing.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 18,601–18,700