as in backing out
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 backing off
Treasury yields and the dollar retreated, with traders backing off some of their more hawkish Federal Reserve bets, pricing in a few basis points worth of easing this year.
—
Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026
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
Tensions came to a head when Carrie confronted her for backing off.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
Malik’s boss is not happy that Malik doesn’t have a grip on the Crane brothers, though Malik assures him that Amos frightened Sarah into backing off — and that Dinah is tucked away at a safe house.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Benioff clarified his National Guard comments in subsequent days leading up to Dreamforce, without backing off his long-running concerns over public safety.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
And yet governments and corporations are now backing off on previous climate goals, and the planet's annual greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb.
—Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025
But Pages did not pursue it to the wall, backing off to play the ball on a bounce.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 23 Mar. 2026
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
Tensions came to a head when Carrie confronted her for backing off.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
Malik’s boss is not happy that Malik doesn’t have a grip on the Crane brothers, though Malik assures him that Amos frightened Sarah into backing off — and that Dinah is tucked away at a safe house.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Benioff clarified his National Guard comments in subsequent days leading up to Dreamforce, without backing off his long-running concerns over public safety.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
And yet governments and corporations are now backing off on previous climate goals, and the planet's annual greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb.
—Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2025
But Pages did not pursue it to the wall, backing off to play the ball on a bounce.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing off
Verb
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Buyers are also increasingly backing out of deals, rather than settling for homes that may not be the perfect fit.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
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Lost my respect by backing out.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Iran, meanwhile, gave no signs of backing down.—
David Rising,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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But Iran showed no signs of backing down.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
Arkansas Online,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20off. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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