backlash: Meaning and Definition of

back•lash

1. a sudden, forceful backward movement; recoil.
2. a strong or violent reaction, as to some social or political change: a backlash of angry feeling among Southern conservatives within the party.
1. the space between the thickness of a gear tooth and the width of the space between teeth in the mating gear, designed to allow for a film of lubricant, binding from heat expansion and eccentricity, or manufacturing inaccuracies.
2. play or lost motion between loosely fitting machine parts.
4. a snarled line on a reel, usually caused by a faulty cast.

1. to make or undergo a backlash.