back number

noun
1.
an out-of-date issue of a serial publication.
2.
Informal. anything out-of-date.
Origin
1805-15, Americanism
British Dictionary definitions for back number

back number

noun
1.
an issue of a newspaper, magazine, etc, that appeared on a previous date
2.
(informal) a person or thing considered to be old-fashioned
Slang definitions & phrases for back number

back number

noun phrase

Someone or something out of date; has-been: Mr Stale is a back number (1880s+)


Idioms and Phrases with back number

back number

Dated, out of style. For example, That hat is really a back number, or The game has changed so fast that a player who returns to the circuit after several years' absence usually finds he or she is a back number. This term originally referred to back issues of periodicals, which are no longer newsworthy. [ Late 1800s ]