as in to back out
to break a promise or agreement
if you back down about dinner again, I'm not going to agree to another date
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of back down
There is only an outdated technicality that forces grocery stores to heat chickens and cool them back down just to comply, wasting energy, degrading quality, and adding cost.
—
Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Parents just can't bring themselves to back down.
—Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026
Larsen, meanwhile, isn’t backing down.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
Draisaitl drove around the back of the net, sent the puck back down low to Vasily Podkolzin, who sent a deft pass net-front to Kasperi Kapanen, who cashed in.
—Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back down
Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026
Parents just can't bring themselves to back down.
—Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026
Larsen, meanwhile, isn’t backing down.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2026
Draisaitl drove around the back of the net, sent the puck back down low to Vasily Podkolzin, who sent a deft pass net-front to Kasperi Kapanen, who cashed in.
—Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back down
Verb
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Italy is underwhelmed at the prospect of being named to the World Cup if Iran backs out.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
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The energy put into a quantum system by measurement could be instantly pulled back out by the Hamiltonian and stored in a battery to power other processes, García-Pintos says.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Some of their goals from throw-ins, with oppositions backing off in anticipation and possibly fear of one of Pinnock’s long throws, have also come from quick restarts and delivering quality crosses into the box.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
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Instead of backing off of their support for the proposal, its Republican supporters are digging in — a sign of how intractable the fight over immigration policy is, even among Trump-supporting Republicans.—
Nicholas Wu,
semafor.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To say these machines are too expense is a cop out.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
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Rather than throwing those bad cops out of the union and asking for better training so cops will never have to ask what to do when a fellow cop appears to have broken the law, Hendry encourages them.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the story, when the news of the bombing breaks, all the staff recall their memories of visiting Boston.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
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Bode recalled in a video shared on TikTok.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20down. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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