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

Because the same force most likely to define the next decade of work — AI — is already threatening to pull that number back down for a large portion of the workforce. —Matt Rosenbaum, Fortune, 29 May 2026

Natalie doesn’t back down when something gets difficult. —Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 27 May 2026

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon isn’t backing down from her opinion that a short guard can’t lead a team to an NBA title, even after what Jalen Brunson did Monday night. —Devon Henderson, New York Times, 27 May 2026

At that point, the weather service expects the upper-level troughing to bring temperatures back down. —Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 27 May 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