back down

verb

backed down; backing down; backs down

intransitive verb

: to withdraw from a commitment or position

Synonyms

• 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

The Toronto Film Festival has backed down from a decision to pull the invite for director Barry Avrich’s Israel October 7 documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue over security and footage clearance concerns. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025

The president, for his part, isn’t backing down despite flagging consumer sentiment and consternation from economists. —Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 13 Aug. 2025

Key Facts Bullish, which issued an IPO price of $37 per share, opened at $90 and peaked at about $118 before the stock pared gains back down to around $85 as of around 2:35 p.m. EDT. —Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025

Milwaukee Airport traffic falls below summer 2024 so far After a jump in 2024, spring and summer passenger numbers at MKE have ticked back down to 2023 levels so far this year, according to airport data. —Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 6 Aug. 2025

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