as in to backtrack
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Recent Examples of backpedal
Arrington struggled against the Seahawks’ length at receiver, so Bill Belichick replaced him with Logan Ryan, who ceded too much cushion before backpedaling into the end zone and allowing an easy Chris Matthews touchdown catch to tie the game, 14-14, with two seconds left in the first half.
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Jeff Howe, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
But Woolen jawed at the Rams bench while backpedaling with his hands behind his back after the play.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
By Sunday, officials in the Trump administration had begun to backpedal.
—Jamelle Bouie, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026
Quarterback Bo Nix, in a sight much too frequent in the 19-3 win, was left to backpedal for his life and loft a duck of an incompletion.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backpedal
Jeff Howe, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
But Woolen jawed at the Rams bench while backpedaling with his hands behind his back after the play.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
By Sunday, officials in the Trump administration had begun to backpedal.
—Jamelle Bouie, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026
Quarterback Bo Nix, in a sight much too frequent in the 19-3 win, was left to backpedal for his life and loft a duck of an incompletion.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for backpedal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backpedal
Verb
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Normally, Ralston said, a person that misses a turn would just swing around quickly and backtrack.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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The reviews and site checks are part of an effort to convince the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to backtrack on the withholding of funds.—
Aki Nace,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The padded backpack straps also impressed testers, most notably a design that retracts straps in a stash pocket when needed.—
Drew Zieff,
Outside,
17 Feb. 2026
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All of them have small core teams that expand and retract as projects demand.—
Barry Levitt,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Attorney Warren Lupel, who represented Gary Dotson, a Chicago-area man who went to prison after being convicted of rape and kidnapping but was freed after the woman who accused him of those crimes recanted her testimony, has died.—
Bob Goldsborough,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
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But in 1999, the four men were arrested, with Springsteen and Scott confessing and later recanting, according to the AP.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backpedal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backpedal. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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