take aback
verb/ˌteɪk əˈbæk/CA/ˌtæɪk əˈbæk/
Etymology
From take + aback, see the two entries for their respective etymology.
Definitions
To surprise or shock
To surprise or shock; to discomfit.
- I was rather taken aback by his angry reply.
- The bad news took us aback.
- I was, at first, a little taken aback and astounded at the bulk of the volume; but, I turned out early this morning, and with eager hope and expectation set doggedly to work in search of the promised consolation.
Of a ship
Of a ship: to catch it with the sails aback suddenly.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for take aback. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA