as in to back down
to break a promise or agreement
you'd better not back off on your promise to do all the planning for the big dance
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Recent Examples of back off
Trump appears to have backed off those tariffs—for now—but the markets (and much of Europe) reacted sharply to the threat.
—
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Multiple officers back off of the man after the shot.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2026
Late in the second half, Kuhr backed off the blitz some and called more Cover 2 to reduce the chances of a breakaway touchdown that could fast-track Houston's comeback efforts.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 20 Jan. 2026
People are protesting and the city may have to back off.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back off
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Multiple officers back off of the man after the shot.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2026
Late in the second half, Kuhr backed off the blitz some and called more Cover 2 to reduce the chances of a breakaway touchdown that could fast-track Houston's comeback efforts.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 20 Jan. 2026
People are protesting and the city may have to back off.
—U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back off
Verb
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Negotiations have been stalled for months, and neither side appears close to backing down.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Rodman, like many Black women in her position, wasn’t backing down.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fresh off a four-game road trip, Boston now will head back out for a two-city back-to-back, visiting Brooklyn on Friday and Chicago on Saturday.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
22 Jan. 2026
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With snowfall right around the corner, people may be digging back out the snow shovels and snow blowers to ensure driveways, sidewalks and porches are clear.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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On Thursday, there were 652 officers on the force, with nearly 100 cops out on some kind of administrative or medical leave.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 Aug. 2025
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But with that brief wave of hope came new footage on Twitter every night of the NYPD acting like bad cops out of a Harvey Keitel flick: cops harassing peaceful crowds, cops kettling activists, cops literally driving a car into a crowd of protestors.—
Maris Kreizman,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20off. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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