at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane; "stow the luggage aft"; "ships with square sails sail fairly efficiently with the wind abaft"; "the captain looked astern to see what the fuss was about"
following as an effect or result; "the period of tension and consequent need for military preparedness"; "the ensuant response to his appeal"; "the resultant savings were considerable"; "the health of the plants and the resulting flowers"
very close in space or time; "proximate words"; "proximate houses"
closest in degree or order (space or time) especially in a chain of causes and effects; "news of his proximate arrival"; "interest in proximate rather than ultimate goals"
in or to or toward the rear; "he followed behind"; "seen from behind, the house is more imposing than it is from the front"; "the final runners were far behind"
remaining in a place or condition that has been left or departed from; "when he died he left much unfinished work behind"; "left a large family behind"; "the children left their books behind"; "he took off with a squeal of tires and left the other cars far behind"
in debt; "he fell behind with his mortgage payments"; "a month behind in the rent"; "a company that has been run behindhand for years"; "in arrears with their utility bills"
in or into an inferior position; "fell behind in his studies"; "their business was lagging behind in the competition for customers"
of timepieces; "the clock is almost an hour slow"; "my watch is running behind"