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

In response to this increase in blood sugar, your pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that helps move glucose out of the blood and into your cells for immediate energy or into storage as glycogen and fat, helping bring blood sugar levels back down. —Jillian Kubala, Health, 24 Nov. 2025

Indy went three-and-out in its final four drives which opened the door for Patrick Mahomes to lead the Chiefs back down the field. —Ben Church, CNN Money, 24 Nov. 2025

At that point, the team made the hard decision to go back down the mountain to base camp in a line, but the mountain had become a sheet of ice, Aldridge told the paper. —Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 23 Nov. 2025

Photos posted by Ouray Mountain Rescue Team show crews traversing steep ice faces to get to the climber's body and back down. —Austen Erblat, CBS News, 18 Nov. 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