Definition of "backbench" [back•bench]

• Chiefly British The rear benches in the House of Commons where junior members of Parliament sit behind government officeholders and their counterparts in the opposition party. (noun)
• New members of Congress considered as a group: "a revolt of the backbench fueled by a powerful lobbying campaign” ( Washington Post). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Frontbenchers must all work to sustain backbench morale, they were told, even by making their share of backbench speeches outside their own responsibilities."
• "All petitions hitting the landmark total are referred to the backbench business committee, which decides certain motions for Parliamentary debates."
• "I can't recall another backbench initiative like this in recent times."