backcloth

UK: /ˈbækklɒθ/

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

backcloth / ˈbækˌklɒθ/ noun

1. a large painted curtain hanging at the back of a stage set
   Also called: backdrop

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

back•drop /ˈbækˌdrɑp/  n. [countable]

1. Show Business the rear curtain of a stage setting.
2. [usually singular] the setting of an event:
   Paris is the backdrop for this movie.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

back-cloth  (bak′klôth′, -kloth′), n., pl. -cloths (-klôᵺz′, -kloᵺz′, -klôths′, -kloths′). [Chiefly Brit. Theat.]

1. backdrop (def. 1).

• 1870–75

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

back•drop  (bak′drop′), n., v., -dropped or -dropt, -drop•ping. 
n. 

1. Show Business Also called,[esp. Brit.,] back-cloth. [Theat.] the rear curtain of a stage setting.
2. the background of an event;
   setting.
3. Sport [Gymnastics.] a maneuver in which a trampolinist jumps in the air, lands on the back with the arms and legs pointed upward, and then springs up to a standing position.

v.t. 

4. to provide a setting or background for:
   A vast mountain range backdrops the broad expanse of lake.

• back¹ + drop 1910–15, American.