as in backing out
to break a promise or agreement
if you back down about dinner again, I'm not going to agree to another date
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Recent Examples of backing down
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 20 Mar. 2026
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
It's been all A&M tonight, but Saint Mary's isn't backing down.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 19 Mar. 2026
But the White House is not backing down.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 17 Mar. 2026
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Prakash Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anthropic isn’t backing down from its position about AI in defense.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
As of midweek, Anthropic showed no signs of backing down from its position.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
Negotiators are showing few signs of backing down from their demands, and there’s little holding back talks from dragging on for the foreseeable future.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 17 Feb. 2026
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 20 Mar. 2026
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
It's been all A&M tonight, but Saint Mary's isn't backing down.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 19 Mar. 2026
But the White House is not backing down.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 17 Mar. 2026
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Prakash Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anthropic isn’t backing down from its position about AI in defense.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
As of midweek, Anthropic showed no signs of backing down from its position.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
Negotiators are showing few signs of backing down from their demands, and there’s little holding back talks from dragging on for the foreseeable future.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing down
Verb
-
Lost my respect by backing out.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
In America, a property owner backing out of a location agreement can lead to legal action and is rare.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Oil backing off from its session high helped equities recover, too.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2026
-
That scream likely scared off the man who showed no signs of backing off.—
Jermont Terry,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20down. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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