in back of vs in the back of (2025)

I understand that at the back of and in the back of can be used interchangeably after I looked through the threads.But still I have one question. Does ' in back of' and ' in the back of' have the same meaning?

Example sentence) The baskets are in back of the bicycles instead of at the front of it. ( Imagine a typical bike with a bakset. Usually the basket is at the front of a bike)

In the above sentence, can I use ' in the back of' instead of ' in back of'?

'The baskets are in back of the bicycles instead of at the front of it.'

'The baskets are at the back of the bicycles instead of at the front of them.' , though better still, in my opinion:

'The baskets are on the back of the bicycles instead of on the front'

halmom
There is a difference between American and British English that may be confusing you.

AE: in back of means behind
Example
Where is John?
He is in back of the house. (he is behind the house)

BE: in back of (This phrase is never used in British English)

BE: at the back of means behind
Example
Where is John?
He is at the back of the house. (he is behind the house)

BE: in the back of means inside the back of
Example
Where is John?
He is in the back of the house. (He is inside the house, at the back)

When you look through the threads you need to notice whether the person writing is American or British. The meaning will be different.

Biffo said:

halmom
There is a difference between American and British English that may be confusing you.

AE: in back of means behind
Example
Where is John?
He is in back of the house. (he is behind the house)

BE: in back of (This phrase is never used in British English)

Click to expand...

Hmmm. If it really is AE to say in back of the house for behind the house (doesn't sound familiar to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean much), then the Canadians go with the British on this one. I would never say, and never hear others saying "in back of" anything. To refer to someone behind a house, I'd probably say he's out back, or if there's a yard, simply he's in the back yard.

theartichoke said:

Hmmm. If it really is AE to say in back of the house for behind the house (doesn't sound familiar to me, but that doesn't necessarily mean much), then the Canadians go with the British on this one. I would never say, and never hear others saying "in back of" anything. To refer to someone behind a house, I'd probably say he's out back, or if there's a yard, simply he's in the back yard.

Click to expand...

I've found this:

in back of chiefly US : directly behind (something or someone)
▪ There's a small yard in back of the house.
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/back[1]

Biffo said:

AE: in back of means behind
Example
Where is John?
He is in back of the house. (he is behind the house)
BE: in back of (This phrase is never used in British English) [...]

Click to expand...

Yet the phrase in front of does exist in British English.

wolfbm1 said:

Yet the phrase in front of does exist in British English.

Click to expand...

Compare also " on top of the fridge" and "on the top of the fridge" with "on the bottom of the door" but not "on bottom of the door "

JulianStuart said:

Compare also " on top of the fridge" and "on the top of the fridge" with "on the bottom of the door" but not "on bottom of the door "

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Thank you. That's interesting. I guess, "on the top of the fridge" means inside the fridge on the top part of it and "on top" - outside the fridge, on top of it.

wolfbm1 said:

Thank you. That's interesting. I guess, "on the top of the fridge" means inside the fridge on the top part of it and "on top" - outside the fridge, on top of it.

Click to expand...

No. If you need to specify inside the fridge, you would not use "on" (But on the top shelf in the fridge)

There isn't much difference between on top of the fridge and on the top of the fridge. Perhaps "on top of..." is less likely to be attached to the top, but rather just resting or stored there. On the top of the fridge might refer to a scratch in the paint.

wolfbm1 said:

Thank you. It is interesting what happens to a prepositional phrase when you remove the definite article.

Click to expand...

But note that the effect is not consistent - so don't consider it a "rule" or anything

Behind/In Back Of/At The Back Of?

"in back of" is a sort of intermediate form which can be forced to serve as either "behind" or "at the back of".

Katherine stood at the back of the room.
?Katherine stood in back of the room.
*Katherine stood behind the room.
She stood behind the wall.
*She stood in back of the wall.
*She stood at the back of the wall.

"We sat behind the bus" has us outside of the bus.
"We sat at the back of the bus" has us inside the bus.
"We sat in back of the bus" can be interpreted in either way.

"We drove behind the bus" is quite different from "We sat at the back of the bus".
"We drove at the back of the bus" is a bit nonsensical.

"Secret plans were being made behind his back."
*"Secret plans were being made in back of him."
*"Secret plans were being made at the back of his back."
*"Secret plans were being made at the back of him."

Who's that behind me?
?Who's that in back of me?
*Who's that at the back of me?

"Suddenly, there was a loud crash at the back of the stage" is not the same as "Suddenly, there was a loud crash behind the stage." The first crash came from somewhere on the stage; the second from a position even farther from the audience and beyond the stage.

CJ