as in to back out
to break a promise or agreement
if you back down about dinner again, I'm not going to agree to another date
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of back down
Haitians woke up Thursday under a cloud of uncertainty as the country’s fragile political transition descended into open confrontation, with the sides locked in a standoff and neither appearing willing to back down.
—
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Many enterprises have turned up their focus on credentials quite a lot in recent years, and these attacks show now is no time to back down.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
So what went wrong with this trip back down the Yellow Brick Road?
—Brent Lang, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
Polk backed down, unwilling to flout the law or the role of Congress in his pursuit (two things that Trump, so far, has ignored in his grab for Greenland and his recent military action in Venezuela).
—Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back down
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Many enterprises have turned up their focus on credentials quite a lot in recent years, and these attacks show now is no time to back down.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
So what went wrong with this trip back down the Yellow Brick Road?
—Brent Lang, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
Polk backed down, unwilling to flout the law or the role of Congress in his pursuit (two things that Trump, so far, has ignored in his grab for Greenland and his recent military action in Venezuela).
—Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for back down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back down
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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 down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20down. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
