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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing (up or away)

Verb

Roo, who was microchipped, had recently been adopted before getting spooked and running away.

— Kat Filardi, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2026
Surveillance video, however, shows Harris running away as Hicks shoots at him.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026

Definition of running away

Verb

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was seen walking out of the dugout with pace to clearly say something to the other side, and that sparked the scrum near the dish.

— Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
The video then shows Respers walking out of the store to his vehicle and leaving the scene.

— Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of walking out

Verb

Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, with Israeli forces withdrawing as Hamas disarms and an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
The list includes measures such as an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdrawing military forces and permanently ending the war.

— Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of withdrawing

Verb

That work is arguably getting harder as chief executives stay in the job longer, causing their possible successors to get restless; some are bolting to jobs elsewhere or retiring themselves.

— Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026
Mogg is a former PGA Tour player, the world’s highest level of competitive golf, and since retiring has coached players on the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Korn Ferry Tours to more than 30 championships.

— Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of retiring

Verb

In Hungary too, where the heat crisis is severely straining the country’s energy supply, the receding water levels of the Danube River exposed several bombs, likely from World War II, a local official said last week.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
The receding waters are also affecting nuclear energy production in numerous countries where water from the Danube is typically used to cool reactors.

— Justin Spike, Fortune, 31 July 2026

Definition of receding

Verb

Record-low water levels along the Danube River have exposed dozens of German military shipwrecks near the Serbian town of Prahovo, where an estimated 200 vessels were deliberately scuttled by retreating Nazi forces in 1944.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
Surveillance video recovered by police showed the two men fighting in an alley and then Britt retreating from Fitzsimmons, according to the charging document.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of retreating

Verb

Republican Jim Shaw injected humor into his remarks, pulling out a Florida flag while distancing himself from substance use.

— Joan Murray, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
But the timing of it is interesting, because that 2022 offseason has become a flashpoint in autopsies of Yzerman’s tenure, with some actually viewing it as an example of the general manager getting impatient and pulling out of the rebuild too soon.

— Max Bultman, New York Times, 17 July 2026

Definition of pulling out

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backing (up)

backing (up or away)

backland

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“Backing (up or away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20%28up%20or%20away%29. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of backing (up or away)

verb

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