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
The end of the game was marred by an incident involving Gabriel Martinelli, who dropped the ball on an injured Conor Bradley, before trying to drag the Liverpool right-back off the pitch as the clock ticked down.
—
James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
But last month, Critchfield backed off in the face of a challenging state budget.
—Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 8 Jan. 2026
Tensions came to a head when Carrie confronted her for backing off.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Russia’s much smaller neighbor in February 2022, has not backed off maximalist demands that would see Ukraine blocked from integrating with the West and limit its ability to defend itself.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back off
James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
But last month, Critchfield backed off in the face of a challenging state budget.
—Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 8 Jan. 2026
Tensions came to a head when Carrie confronted her for backing off.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Russia’s much smaller neighbor in February 2022, has not backed off maximalist demands that would see Ukraine blocked from integrating with the West and limit its ability to defend itself.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 27 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back off
Verb
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Digestion and water loss typically bring your weight back down.—
Brandi Jones,
Verywell Health,
12 Jan. 2026
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Russia had been demanding vast tracts of Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace, and on the call Lavrov refused to back down.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Pure linen cannot be stretched back out, but a linen blend can.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
15 Jan. 2026
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Diving deeper, a bunch of biomarkers that shift during pregnancy may also take longer than a fourth trimester to level back out.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
15 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 16 Jan. 2026.
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