back out

verb

backed out; backing out; backs out

intransitive verb

: to withdraw especially from a commitment or contest

Examples of back out in a Sentence

she backed out on her offer to help with the wedding planning
Recent Examples on the Web She was supposed to tour with Thundercat, for instance, but had to back out because her vocal cords hadn’t healed as quickly as expected. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2024 When Twitter sued Musk in 2022 over his attempt to back out of buying the company for $44 billion, McCormick assigned herself the case rather than delegating what was sure to be a contentious, high-profile matter to one of her vice chancellors. Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024 Before the All-Star break begins, the Warriors head back out to Salt Lake City to play a makeup game against the Jazz previously postponed in the wake of Milojevic’s death last month. Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024 For more than a year, the motion contends, the city stalled, then tried to back out of the district-by-district commitment as Bass pursued a citywide program to clean up encampments, according to the motion filed by lawyers for the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024 The challenging part is learning how to get the information into, and back out of, the molecule in an economically viable way. IEEE Spectrum, 17 Feb. 2024 But Burke overrode the order and sent the ship back out into open waters. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 13 Feb. 2024 If the United States backs out, Ukraine would have to renegotiate the fund’s $5.4 billion program this year. Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024 The original plan was for actor Will Ferrell to introduce Ohtani, but Ferrell backed out just days before the event due to a scheduling conflict. Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'back out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of back out was in 1801

Dictionary Entries Near back out

Cite this Entry

“Back out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20out. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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