as in to backtrack
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Recent Examples of backpedal
Heartbroken at Bonnaroo: Artists, fans react to abrupt cancellation, 'this was gonna be a special one'
The festival later backpedaled and offered a 100% refund.
—
Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 3 Sep. 2025
In 2025, companies that once made public commitments to racial justice are staying quiet—or backpedaling.
—Katica Roy, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2025
Patrick Mahomes backpedaled from the 10-yard line to maybe the 15, searching for an option before his eyes darted to the middle of the field.
—Sam McDowell 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2025
Companies are investing heavily in automation, Goucher says, but companies are sometimes forced to backpedal.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for backpedal
Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 3 Sep. 2025
In 2025, companies that once made public commitments to racial justice are staying quiet—or backpedaling.
—Katica Roy, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2025
Patrick Mahomes backpedaled from the 10-yard line to maybe the 15, searching for an option before his eyes darted to the middle of the field.
—Sam McDowell 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2025
Companies are investing heavily in automation, Goucher says, but companies are sometimes forced to backpedal.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for backpedal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backpedal
Verb
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This week, the White House appeared to backtrack on its most acute threats.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
8 Oct. 2025
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Since the 2024 election, a lot of high-profile Democrats, even [California] Governor [Gavin] Newsom, have seemed to backtrack a bit or even come out a little bit against going too far with transgender rights.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The woman filed a human resources complaint against him but retracted it days later out of fear of retaliation, three officials told Politico.—
Lillian Rizzo,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
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The network retracted the story after it was found that documents used in the piece could not be authenticated.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Attorneys for Kouri Richins, the Utah mom charged with spiking her husband’s drink with a lethal dose of fentanyl in 2022, accused prosecutors of failing to turn over evidence after a key witness recanted his statement.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
3 Oct. 2025
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But now, Richins' defense team claims that Crozier recanted the statement in April, and accuses prosecutors of knowingly withholding the info from the defense ahead of trial.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backpedal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backpedal. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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