1
as in to revert
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2
as in to backpedal
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Recent Examples of backtrack
This week, the White House appeared to backtrack on its most acute threats.
—
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 8 Oct. 2025
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
The flight is not the only one to backtrack after takeoff in recent months.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
The point is taking the right risks and knowing how to backtrack.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backtrack
Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 8 Oct. 2025
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
The flight is not the only one to backtrack after takeoff in recent months.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
The point is taking the right risks and knowing how to backtrack.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for backtrack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backtrack
Verb
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That move is historically overextended and is likely to revert closer to the mean.—
Jay Woods,
CNBC,
16 Dec. 2025
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But Reiner said Shearer eventually realized that the movie’s stars hadn’t actually made that much money from the movie, and Shearer eventually got the rights to revert back to the creators.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Quarterback Carson Beck took the snap from the shotgun, backpedaled a couple steps, and floated a ball down the right sidelined for true freshman Malachi Toney, who hauled in the contested catch for a 20-yard touchdown to cap the Hurricanes’ 34-17 win over the Hokies at Lane Stadium.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
30 Nov. 2025
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Allen backpedaled to the corner and got a perfect pass from Bosh just before the 3-point line.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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While multiple sources familiar with the holiday events deny online rumors that Mar-a-Lago threatened to revoke the memberships of guests who took photos of Barron over the holidays, insiders tell PEOPLE that there's an unspoken rule about how to treat the most private member of the first family.—
Linda Marx,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
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Colbert was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Orleans Parish in May, after a judge revoked her probation in a similar but unrelated case.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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De Blasio responded with shock, demanding The Times retract the story.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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The Democrat has since faced calls from Republicans to drop out of the state attorney general race, though many Democrats and his corporate donors have not retracted their support.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Backtrack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backtrack. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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