back down

verb

backed down; backing down; backs down

intransitive verb

: to withdraw from a commitment or position

Synonyms of back down

• back out
• back off
• cop out
• recall

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

Hiring picked up in the early part of this year but settled back down in June, with the economy adding a lower-than-expected 57,000 jobs. — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 23 July 2026

Of course, the memory market is famously cyclical and subject to sharp boom-and-bust cycles, as manufacturers ramp up capacity to meet demand and eventually produce a glut of memory chips that drives prices back down. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 22 July 2026

Afterward, slide the water tank cover back down, and plug the iron in to prepare for ironing. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 21 July 2026

Turning plastic back into fuel is essentially a process of reverse engineering — using heat and chemistry to chop those massive chains back down into short, usable fuel molecules. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for back down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

back down

verb

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