BehindisaprepositionandadverbinEnglishthatprimarilyindicatespositionatthebackofsomethingorsomeone.Asapreposition,itshowsspatialrelationships("Thecathidbehindthecurtain")orfigurativepositions("Thereasonsbehindhisdecision").Commonverbpairingsinclude"fallbehind,""leavebehind,"and"staybehind."Itcombineswith"thescenes"toformtheadverbialphrase"behindthescenes."Whenusedadverbially,itcanstandalone("Hestayedbehind")ormodifyverbs("She'slaggingbehind").Thewordalsoappearsinexpressionslike"behindschedule"and"behindsomeone'sback,"conveyingtemporalorsecretivemeanings.Itsusagespansliteralandmetaphoricalcontexts,makingitaversatileelementinEnglishgrammar.
