behind one's back

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There ought to be no shortage of candidates, despite the sense of having a hand tied behind one's back in taking on the responsibility.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

General Richard Dannatt, head of the army from 2006 to last year, says a lack of resources had left the military conducting operations "with at least part of one arm tied behind one's back."

From Time • Apr. 8, 2010

The hardest of criminals will respond favorably to such treatment when genuine and done in the absence of a "big stick" behind one's back .

From Time Magazine Archive

It is especially difficult to prevent things from happening behind one's back.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 04 of 55 1576-1582 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century by Robertson, James Alexander

No, my son, say what you like about me, there's no forbidding anyone to talk; if they don't dare before one's face, they'll do it behind one's back.

From The Storm by Garnett, Constance