Home › Words › B › backlistbacklistbacklist means A list of older books available from a publisher, as opposed to the frontlist of more recent titles.EtymologyFrom back + list.nounA list of older books available from a publisher, as opposed to the frontlist of more recent titles.Expected to achieve years of adequate sales while on a backlist, and to be profitable on that basis, even if predicted not to sell in huge numbers when new.e.g.“The celebrity tell-all has been proposed as a frontlist title, whereas the cookbook has been proposed as a backlist title and the food history book as a midlist title.”verbTo hold back a student's application (to a college etc.) based on whether a preferred candidate declines their offer.e.g.“I have not heard back from the college yet: I must have been backlisted.”To place (a book) on a backlist.Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.frontlist 83% match — A list of the most recent books available from a publisher, as opposed to the backlist of older titles. vs backlist →booklist 63% match — Any list of books. vs backlist →antilibrary 53% match — A collection of books that a person owns but has not yet read. vs backlist →softback 53% match — A softcover or paperback book. vs backlist →longlist 51% match — An initial, relatively long, shortlist, from which a further shortlist is selected. vs backlist →backstock 51% match — Stock remaining that has not yet been sold. vs backlist →backfile 51% match — A file of documents in paper or fiche format that have no digital equivalent. vs backlist →prelist 50% match — A list prepared in advance, for example of dwellings to be visited as part of a census or a marketing campaign. vs backlist →