clear ... backlog• Norwich agreed to take on an extra twelve staff and to clear the backlog of applications.• Extra staff brought in to clear the backlog should be kept on until a thoroughreview is made.• She continued to go to the shop and had managed to clear the backlog of work and correspondence.• The hospital is asking for more money to clear the backlog.• He said the airline was now working to clear the backlog, with the delayedflightsexpected to depart within 24 hours.
From Longman Business Dictionary
backlogback·log /ˈbæklɒg-lɒːg, -lɑːg/ noun [countableC usually singular]
an amount of work that should already have been completed
The company has a backlog of 165 orders for the helicopter.
Originbacklog
(1900-2000)backlog“large piece of wood placed at the back of a fire”((17-21 centuries))
ADJECTIVE | VERB + BACKLOG | BACKLOG + VERBADJECTIVE➤big, huge, large大量積壓的工作VERB + BACKLOG➤be faced with, have面臨積壓的工作;有積壓工作◇We are faced with a backlog of orders we can't deal with.我們面對一大堆積壓下來的無法處理的訂單。➤catch up on, clear, deal with, eliminate, reduce處理積壓的事情;清理積壓的東西;減少積壓的事物BACKLOG + VERB➤build up (especially BrE) 積壓越來越多◇A huge backlog of work had built up.一大堆工作積壓了起來。