as in to back down
to break a promise or agreement
she backed out on her offer to help with the wedding planning
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Recent Examples of back out
Karamo Brown abruptly backed out of multiple live morning shows, just an hour before air time on Tuesday.
—
Vivian Kwarm, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
Karamo Brown abruptly backed out of multiple live morning shows, just an hour before air time on Tuesday.
—Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2026
When Jerry passed, some people started backing out.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
His comments may not be enough to bring protesters back out onto the streets, however.
—Kay Armin Serjoie, Time, 17 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back out
Vivian Kwarm, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
Karamo Brown abruptly backed out of multiple live morning shows, just an hour before air time on Tuesday.
—Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2026
When Jerry passed, some people started backing out.
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
His comments may not be enough to bring protesters back out onto the streets, however.
—Kay Armin Serjoie, Time, 17 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back out
Verb
-
Negotiations have been stalled for months, and neither side appears close to backing down.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Rodman, like many Black women in her position, wasn’t backing down.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But the president backed off after appeals from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and tech executives, including Marc Benioff, the Salesforce CEO whose family name is attached to the Oakland children’s hospital.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Healthy cells that still have their MGMT gene intact will simply pluck the methyl group back off.—
Isabella Backman,
Hartford Courant,
27 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
Verb
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The mood in the crowd was widespread anger and sadness — recalling the same outpour of wrath that shook the city for weeks after the killing of George Floyd in 2020, although without the widespread rioting that had occurred then.—
Jack Brook,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
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Italy formally protested on Saturday the release on bail of the owner of a Swiss bar engulfed in a deadly New Year's Day fire and recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, as the court's decision came under criticism in both countries.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20out. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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