back down

verb

backed down; backing down; backs down

intransitive verb

: to withdraw from a commitment or position

Examples of back down in a Sentence

if you back down about dinner again, I'm not going to agree to another date
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That brain area responds by sending signals back down the vagus nerve to the spleen. Jon Hamilton, NPR, 22 Sep. 2025 Allow the kettlebell to come up to chest height before pulling it back down. Sherri Gordon, Health, 22 Sep. 2025 The Bucs blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead by having a kick to put them up two possessions blocked and returned for a touchdown, only to have Baker Mayfield march the offense back down the field for a game-winning 36-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin with zeros on the clock. Chris Bumbaca, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025 Maduro appears to be betting that Washington will back down. Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for back down

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of back down was in 1849

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Back down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20down. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

back down

verb
: to retreat from a stand one has taken or from a challenge one has accepted

More from Merriam-Webster on back down

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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