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Away vs Behind - What's the difference?

away | behind |

As adverbs the difference between away and behind

is that away is from a place, while behind is at the back part; in the rear.

As an interjection away

is (northern england) come on!; go on!.

As an adjective away

is not here, gone, absent, unavailable, traveling; on vacation or away can be .

As a preposition behind is

at the back of.

As a noun behind is

the rear, back-end.

away

English

Etymology 1

(etyl) .

Adverb

(further)
  • From a place, .
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
  • , chapter=5, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=The departure was not unduly prolonged.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2014-06-14, volume=411, issue=8891, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= It's a gas , passage=One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.}}
  • Aside; off; in another direction.
  • From a state or condition of being; out of existence.
  • Come away; go away; take away.
  • * 1933 +, Fran Striker, The Lone Ranger , WXYZ-AM
  • Hi-yo Silver, away !
  • On; in continuance; without intermission or delay.
  • Without restraint.
  • Being so engaged for the entire time.
  • At a distance in time or space.
  • * 1948 , , North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States , J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
  • While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away , were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away .}}
    Synonyms
    * (away from a place) at bay, off

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (Northern England) come on!; go on!
  • Adjective

    (further)
  • Not here, gone, absent, unavailable, traveling; on vacation.
  • The master is away from home.
    Would you pick up my mail while I'm away .
  • (following the noun modified) At a specified distance in space, time, or figuratively.
  • He's miles away by now.
    Spring is still a month away .
  • (chiefly, sports) Not on one's home territory.
  • Next, they are playing away in Dallas.
  • (baseball, following the noun modified) Out.
  • Two men away in the bottom of the ninth.

    Derived terms

    * an apple a day keeps the doctor away * away game * awayness * away side * away swing * away team * away with the fairies * awayday * back away * bang away * bat away * beaver away * blow away * break away * breakaway * carried away * carry away * cart away * cast away * chuck away * clear away * die away * do away with * draw away * eat away * explain away * fade away * fall away * far and away * far away * faraway * fend away * file away * fire away * fool away * footle away * fritter away * get away * get away with * get away with murder * get carried away * get one's end away * get-away * getaway * give away * give away the store * give-away shop * give one's daughter away * glance away * go away * go-away bird * hammer away * home away from home * keep away * keep away from * keep-away * lay away * make away * make away with * out and away * pack away * pass away * peg away at * piss away * plug away * plug away at * pull away * put away * ridden hard and put away wet * right away * run away * run away with * run-away * runaway * salt away * send away * send away for * shy away from * slink away * slip away * sneak away * sock away * spirit away * square away * squirrel away * steal away * stow away * straight away * strip away * tail away * take away * take away from * take it away * take-away * take one's breath away * tear away * throw away * throw away the key * throw money away * throw-away * tuck away * turn away * walk away from * walk away with * want-away * wash away * waste away * wear away * whale away * when the cat's away * when the cat's away the mice will play * while away * wipe away * wither away

    Etymology 2

    behind

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • At the back of.
  • *
  • *:But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Timothy Garton Ash)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=18, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli , passage=Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.}}
  • To the back of.
  • After, time- or motion-wise.
  • *1883 , (Robert Louis Stevenson), (Treasure Island)
  • *:About the center, and a good way behind the rest, Silver and I followed - I tethered by my rope.
  • Responsible for.
  • In support of.
  • :
  • Left a distance by, in progress or improvement; inferior to.
  • :
  • *Bible, xi.5:
  • *:I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
  • Synonyms

    * in back of * to the rear of

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • At the back part; in the rear.
  • * Milton
  • I shall not lag behind .
  • Toward the back part or rear; backward.
  • to look behind
  • Overdue, in arrears.
  • My employer is two paychecks behind on paying my salary.
    I'm two weeks behind in my schedule.
  • Slow; of a watch or clock.
  • ''My watch is four minutes behind .
  • existing afterwards
  • He left behind a legacy of death and sorrow.
    He stayed behind after the war.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, / And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, / Leave not a rack behind .
  • Backward in time or order of succession; past.
  • * Bible, Phil. ii. 13
  • forgetting those things which are behind
  • Behind the scenes in a theatre; backstage.
  • * 1890 , (Oscar Wilde), The Picture of Dorian Gray , Vintage 2007, p. 68:
  • ‘After the performance was over I went behind , and spoke to her.’
  • (archaic) Not yet brought forward, produced, or exhibited to view; out of sight; remaining.
  • * John Locke
  • We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind .

    Usage notes

    For usage in phrasal verbs, see Category: English phrasal verbs with particle "behind": .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • the rear, back-end
  • butt, the buttocks, bottom
  • (Australian rules football) A one-point score.
  • * 1880 . "The Opening Ball" in Comic Australian Verse'', ed. G. Lehmann, 1975. Quoted in G. A. Wilkes, ''A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms , second edition, 1985, (Sydney University Press), ISBN 0-424-00113-6.
  • A roar from ten thousand throats go up,
    For we've kicked another behind.
  • The catcher.
  • In the Eton College field game, any of a group of players consisting of two "shorts" (who try to kick the ball over the bully) and a "long" (who defends the goal).
  • Derived terms

    * behind bars * behind closed doors * behind in the count * behind somebody's back * behind the arc * behind the bit * behind the counter * behind the eight-ball * behind the scenes * behind the wheel * behindhand * caught behind * come from behind * drop behind * fall behind * get behind * hiney * leave behind * rushed behind * stay behind * wet behind the ears

    Statistics

    *

    References

    * Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8