have someone's back

English

Alternative forms

• cover someone's back
• have got someone's back
• get someone's back

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hæv ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈbæk/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

have someone's back (third-person singular simple present has someone's back, present participle having someone's back, simple past and past participle had someone's back)

1. (idiomatic) To be prepared and willing to support or defend someone.

   If you ever need help, just ask. You know I have your back.

   • 2022 October 5, Rowena Mason, quoting Liz Truss, “Liz Truss promises ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Liz Truss has promised Britons she has “got your back” and set out a plan for “growth, growth and growth” in a conference speech disrupted by protesters asking who voted for her plan.

Synonyms

• have got someone's six (chiefly military and law enforcement slang)

Translations

be prepared and willing to support or defend someone

• Armenian: մեջքին կանգնած լինել (meǰkʻin kangnac linel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (no exact equivalent exists; lit. "support") 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Czech: stát za kým impf
• Dutch: iemand steunen, achter iemand staan
• Finnish: olla jonkun tuki, tukea (fi)
• Italian: spalleggiare (it), dare man forte, sostenere (it), fiancheggiare (it)
• Russian: подде́рживать (ru) m (poddérživatʹ), защища́ть (ru) impf (zaščiščátʹ)

See also

• have someone's head (nearly antonymous)