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
However, Skydance, which is currently merging with Paramount, reportedly backed out of the agreement.
—
Jack Dunn, Variety, 24 July 2025
Add in numbness, tingling or pounding headaches, and suddenly checking your phone, sleeping comfortably or backing out of a parking spot becomes a real challenge.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 26 July 2025
Despite Lionel Messi backing out of the 2025 MLS All-Star Game, the league’s best defeated the Liga MX All-Stars 3-1 on Wednesday night at Q2 Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Austin FC.
—Mark J. Burns, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
The capsule is then deflated again and pulled back out, where samples are collected, sealed and sent to a lab for analysis.
—Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for back out
Jack Dunn, Variety, 24 July 2025
Add in numbness, tingling or pounding headaches, and suddenly checking your phone, sleeping comfortably or backing out of a parking spot becomes a real challenge.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 26 July 2025
Despite Lionel Messi backing out of the 2025 MLS All-Star Game, the league’s best defeated the Liga MX All-Stars 3-1 on Wednesday night at Q2 Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Austin FC.
—Mark J. Burns, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
The capsule is then deflated again and pulled back out, where samples are collected, sealed and sent to a lab for analysis.
—Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for back out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back out
Verb
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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
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The president, for his part, isn’t backing down despite flagging consumer sentiment and consternation from economists.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For months, Trump has threatened to fire and replace Powell, only to repeatedly back off from his threat.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
5 Aug. 2025
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Perhaps the move by California — and potentially similar Democratic efforts in Illinois, New York and other states — will convince Texas Republicans to back off, as unlikely as that seems at the moment.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Aug. 2025
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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Sometimes there’s been a long gap since the last session, and the actor must recall the emotional tone from the previous performance.—
Nick Newman,
IndieWire,
7 Aug. 2025
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While recently appearing on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live, the 39-year-old That’s So Raven star recalled her ex-boyfriend not only getting another woman pregnant during their relationship, but audaciously asking her to be the baby’s Godmother.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20out. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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