as in to backtrack
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Recent Examples of backpedal
In follow-up interviews, Grede has declined to backpedal.
—
Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
Rather than attack the basket and either score or draw a foul, Bridges predictably chose the path of least resistance and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper with 1.4 seconds left before backpedaling into the Atlanta bench.
—Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
But leaders shouldn’t backpedal on criminal justice reforms.
—A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 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
Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
Rather than attack the basket and either score or draw a foul, Bridges predictably chose the path of least resistance and pulled up for a fadeaway jumper with 1.4 seconds left before backpedaling into the Atlanta bench.
—Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
But leaders shouldn’t backpedal on criminal justice reforms.
—A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 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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Prolonged downtime could force him to backtrack in his progression.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
2 June 2026
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Anthropic initially ruled out taking the region’s money on national security and moral grounds, only to backtrack.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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One of his Greenlandic colleagues offered his own thoughts, then similarly retracted, lest his assertions affect Greenland’s new position of leverage.—
Ben Taub,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
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The farm retracted those statements five days later, but continued to dispute the cause of the outbreak and contest the agency’s findings.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
Verb
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But that witness also recanted when prosecutors showed him the video of what happened.—
J.D. Miles,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
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Jalonni, who was the primary suspect, allegedly convinced Raechyl to have their daughter recant the allegation.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backpedal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backpedal. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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