Backstopped

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A structural or financial support is established to ensure stability
2. A guarantee is implemented to uphold obligations or commitments
3. Acted to provide a foundation that keeps something steady or safe ; gave a formal promise to cover responsibilities or debts if needed

Etymology: "Backstopped" is the past tense and past participle of "backstop," a compound formed from "back" and "stop." The verb draws on the sense of a physical barrier placed behind something to catch what gets past it, such as a fence behind a baseball diamond or a wall behind a target range. Once that image was established, people began using it figuratively for any support placed behind a process or a commitment to catch failures. The figurative sense is the one most readers now meet. To backstop a loan is to guarantee it, and to backstop a policy is to provide the resources that stand behind it if the plan fails. The physical origin still shows in the idea: the support waits quietly behind the main effort and only becomes active when something slips past.

Synonyms: supported, underpinned