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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of back out
Baylor, Houston, Michigan State and Northwestern offered the undersized defensive back out of The Woodlands (Texas) High School.
—
Manny Navarro, New York Times, 1 June 2026
That’s why Henry Ford embraced this race, entering two cars—and offering to wager on the outcome—even as nearly every other American automaker backed out.
—Eric Moskowitz, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
Country singer Martina McBride is also among those who backed out of the concert, announcing her decision to pull out of the event in a lengthy statement on X.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2026
Then the fork is slid back out.
—Special To The Denver Post, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for back out
Manny Navarro, New York Times, 1 June 2026
That’s why Henry Ford embraced this race, entering two cars—and offering to wager on the outcome—even as nearly every other American automaker backed out.
—Eric Moskowitz, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
Country singer Martina McBride is also among those who backed out of the concert, announcing her decision to pull out of the event in a lengthy statement on X.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2026
Then the fork is slid back out.
—Special To The Denver Post, Denver Post, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for back out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back out
Verb
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Getting commercial property values back down to a 15% increase ceiling entailed manually reviewing the assessed values of hundreds of properties countywide, targeting anything valued under $5 million in 2023.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
31 May 2026
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Imagine a line of 300 people hiking up a sheer slope, taking a chairlift back down from the top, and then repeating the loop continuously for a day and a half.—
Kristy Ellmer,
CNBC,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The driver cut through busy intersections even though officers backed off ground units.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
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But ongoing discussions Friday suggested federal officials may be backing off some of the stricter monitoring proposals.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Strategic shakeup Usually buying and selling is a cop out, but with where the Red Sox are in their competitive cycle the approach might make some sense.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
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The case, which has only recently come to the attention of POST officials, highlights the limits of state oversight even after lawmakers passed significant police reform aimed at forcing dishonest cops out of the profession.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
8 May 2026
Verb
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In addition, the Urban Summit played a leading role in the special election to recall former Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr.—
Freddrell Green,
Kansas City Star,
7 June 2026
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The surprise show was unexpectedly emotional for the singer, who recalled arriving in New York as a young woman and asking the cab driver to drop her in the center of it all.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Back out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20out. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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