BACKING (UP OR AWAY) Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

backing (up or away)

verb

Definition of backing (up or away)

present participle of back (up or away)

as in running away

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing (up or away)

Verb

The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away.

— Lekan Oyekanmi, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Walker arrives at the scene and notices a man running away with a gun in hand.

— Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of running away

Verb

With clients walking out and a competitor putting the agency’s standing at risk, the siblings scramble to save both their income and what their mother built.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
The table furthest to the left (when walking out of the main dining room) is the crown jewel.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of walking out

Verb

Bass pushed for a bill in the state Legislature that would have reduced taxes on apartment buildings but ended up withdrawing it.

— Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
San Antonio police have advised bank customers to stay alert when withdrawing cash and watch for anyone who may be following them.

— Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of withdrawing

Verb

Both Collins and Manchin — who represented deep-red West Virginia in the Senate before leaving the Democratic Party and retiring in 2024 — have a history of clashing with their respective parties.

— Taurean Small, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Outgoing ranking members Angie Craig of Minnesota and Nydia Velázquez of New York are also behind, though retiring members and frontliners generally don’t pay dues in full.

— Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of retiring

Verb

The Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky is perhaps the greatest chronicler of that era of scale, which stretched across the long twentieth century and only now shows the first signs of receding.

— Bill McKibben, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
Oil is high, but not that high and the risk with Iran has been receding with oil prices coming down.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of receding

Verb

The pope paused for a moment and waved to the crowd before retreating into his apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

— Colleen Barry, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
In a world riven by democratic backsliding and polluted with AI slop, there’s something seductive about the idea of retreating to a wild, unnavigable place where no one can follow you—because you’ll be submerged up to your eyeballs.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of retreating

Verb

As good as Oliver Stone is at pulling out incredible performances from his male stars, the same isn’t always true for his leading ladies.

— Michael Douglas, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Stack slices together to make your own roll-ups, perfect for pulling out between classes.

— Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulling out

Verb

The turmoil from Moore’s Michigan conduct continues to linger, 10 months later, but the process of clearing out his office in Schembechler Hall went remarkably swift.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2026
The nor'easter that has been bringing bands of rain and heavy winds to New York, New Jersey and the Tri-State Area is finally clearing out.

— Justin Lewis, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of clearing out

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.

Browse Nearby Words

backing (up)

backing (up or away)

backland

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Backing (up or away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20%28up%20or%20away%29. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of backing (up or away)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vocation

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes