backlog

Everyday

1. A pile of work or jobs that should have been done already and are still waiting. tree →
2. A list of things still to be done in order, such as orders, emails or tasks. tree →
3. A backlog is a large log placed at the back of a fireplace to burn slowly. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday and adult life, a backlog builds up when there is too much work and too little time, for example at the post office or a hospital. At school a pupil can have a backlog of homework after being ill. In computing, a «backlog» is the team's list of jobs to do. Phrases: «a backlog of», «clear the backlog».

Examples

• After a week off sick, I had a backlog of homework. tree →
• The post office has a huge backlog of parcels before Christmas. tree →
• The plumbers are busy clearing a backlog of jobs. tree →
• Dad spent Sunday working through his backlog of emails. tree →
• There is a long backlog of patients waiting at the hospital. tree →
• Our game-making team keeps a backlog of ideas. tree →
• Snow caused a backlog of trains at the station. tree →
• The next thing she did was to rake back the red embers, and make a hollow place among them, just where the backlog had been. tree →

Note

Countable: a backlog, backlogs; usually «a backlog of» something. Not about logs of wood or the back of anything. In maths problems a backlog is the amount still left over: if 40 orders came and 25 were done, the backlog is 15.