backlash.

1. Lost motion or play caused by clearance between interacting mechanical parts, especially gears, when motion changes direction.

2. A strong negative reaction to an action, policy, or change.

3. A tangle produced when a fishing reel’s spool overruns the line being paid out.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• gear backlash
• reduce backlash

On the page

Gear backlash made the arm pause before reversing.

The technician measured backlash before recalibrating the position sensor.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Usually uncountable for mechanical play; plural backlashes for distinct reactions or tangles. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.