climbing down

verb

present participle of climb down
as in backing down

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for climbing down
  1. backing down
  2. bowing out
Verb
  • The White House has dismissed these claims, but those who filed the lawsuit are not backing down.
    — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 10 July 2026
  • In spite of the backlash, the Seattle committee showed no signs of backing down.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of backing down
Verb
  • He was brought in to get England over the line in this type of situation, but his negative tactics contributed to the team bowing out yet again.
    — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
  • The tiny island nation kept advancing, drawing Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to reach the Round of 32 before finally bowing out to defending champion Argentina in an exhilarating match that may have been the best of the tournament so far.
    — Daniel Ross Goodman, The Washington Examiner, 11 July 2026
Definition of bowing out
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

climbing (aboard)
climbing down
climbs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Climbing down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climbing%20down. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of parochial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All