backup
A copy of digital data kept in case the original is lost, damaged, or destroyed; or, the act of making such a copy.
As a noun, it refers to the duplicate copy itself. As a verb (often written as two words: 'back up'), it refers to the action of creating that copy. It implies a safety net rather than active, primary storage.
Word relationships
- duplicate: A duplicate is an exact copy of something, whereas a backup is specifically a duplicate created for safety and recovery purposes.
- reserve: A reserve is something kept in store for future use, but it does not necessarily imply a copy of an existing digital file.
- original: The original is the primary, initial version of the data from which the backup is copied.
Commonly confused with
- archive: A backup is a copy of active data used for quick recovery if the original is lost, while an archive is a collection of old, inactive data moved to long-term storage to free up space.
Word family
- back up (verb): To make a spare copy of data.
Collocations
- perform a backup
- backup system
- daily backup
- cloud backup
Example sentences
- "It is highly recommended to keep a secondary backup of your photos on an external drive." A standard recommendation for personal computer users.
- "After the hard drive crashed, I was so relieved I had a recent backup of all my work."
Memory hook
Think of a backup as a safety net that has your 'back' when your computer acts 'up'. It has your back when things blow up.
When not to use
Do not use backup to describe the primary, active copy of a file that you are currently editing, nor for long-term historical records that are deleted from the main system (use archive instead).
Fun facts
- World Backup Day is celebrated every year on March 31st, deliberately placed the day before April Fools' Day to remind people to secure their data before any digital pranks or mishaps occur.
Explore more words
redundancy, back up, archive, data protection, transcribe, save
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