[W/K] :: backup

  backup \back"up\, n.
     1. anything kept in reserve to serve as a substitute in case
        of failure or unavailability of the normal or primary
        object; -- used for devices, plans, people, etc. Also used
        attributively; as, there was no backup for the electrical
        supply; a backup motor; a backup generator.
        [PJC]
  
     2. (Music) a musician or group of musicians accompanying a
        soloist, whether vocalists or instrumentalists.
  
     Syn: accompaniment. [PJC]
  
     3. a person or group of persons serving as reinforcement for
        another or others; as, the policeman called for backup
        when he was fired on.
        [PJC]
  
     4. an accumulation, overflow, or reverse flow (in traffic or
        a liquid flow system) caused by a stoppage or other
        malfunction.
        [PJC]
  
     5. (Computers) A copy of a program or data from a computer
        onto a data-storage medium, usually one that may be
        removed to safe storage at a distance from the computer;
        it is used to preserve data for use in the contingency
        that the original data on the computer may be lost or
        become unusable. A backup that is removed from the
        building housing the computer system (to provide
        protection against loss of data in a disastrous event such
        as a fire) is called off-site backup. Also used
        attributively; as, backup copy.
        [PJC]
  
     6. (Computers) The act or process of creating a backup[5];
        as, they performed a full system backup every weekend.
        [PJC] Backward

  backup
       n 1: an accumulation caused by clogging or a stoppage; "a traffic
            backup on the main street"; "he discovered a backup in
            the toilet"
       2: someone who takes the place of another (as when things get
          dangerous or difficult); "the star had a stand-in for
          dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer
          fill-ins" [syn: stand-in, substitute, relief, reliever,
           backup man, fill-in]
       3: a subordinate musical part; provides background for more
          important parts [syn: accompaniment, musical
          accompaniment, support]
       4: (computer science) a copy of a file or directory on a
          separate storage device; "he made a backup in case the
          original was accidentally damaged or erased" [syn: computer
          backup]
       5: the act of providing approval and support; "his vigorous
          backing of the conservatives got him in trouble with
          progressives" [syn: backing, championship, patronage]

  104 Moby Thesaurus words for "backup":
     about-face, about-turn, advocate, agent, alter ego, alternate,
     alternative, amicus curiae, analogy, attorney, back track,
     back trail, backing, backing off, backing out, backing up,
     backup man, champion, change, changeling, comparison, copy,
     counterfeit, deputy, double, dummy, equal, equivalent, ersatz,
     exchange, executive officer, exponent, fake, figurehead, fill-in,
     ghost, ghostwriter, imitation, lieutenant, locum, locum tenens,
     makeshift, metaphor, metonymy, mock, next best thing, paranymph,
     personnel, phony, pinch, pinch hitter, pleader, procurator,
     provisional, proxy, relief, replacement, representative, reserve,
     reserves, reversal, reverse, reversing, reversion, right-about,
     right-about-face, ringer, second in command, second string,
     secondary, sign, spare, spares, stand-in, stopgap, sub,
     substituent, substitute, substitution, succedaneum, superseder,
     supplanter, surrogate, swingaround, symbol, synecdoche, temporary,
     tentative, third string, token, turnabout, turnaround, understudy,
     utility, utility man, utility player, vicar, vicar general,
     vicarious, vice, vice-president, vice-regent, vicegerent,
     volte-face
  
  

  backup
       
           (Sometimes "back up" when used as a verb) A
          spare copy of a file, file system or other resource for use in
          the event of failure or loss of the original.
       
          The term is most commonly used to refer to a copy of all the
          files on a computer's disks which is made periodically and
          kept on magnetic tape or other removable medium (also called
          a "{dump").
       
          This essential precaution is neglected by most new computer
          users until the first time they experience a disk crash or
          accidentally delete the only copy of the file they have been
          working on for the last six months.
       
          Ideally the backup copies should be kept at a different site
          or in a fire safe since, though your hardware may be insured
          against fire, the data on it is almost certainly neither
          insured nor easily replaced.
       
          See also differential backup, incremental backup, full
          backup.  Compare archive.
       
          (2003-06-22)