DROP BACK Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

drop back

verb

Definition of drop back

as in to withdraw

to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) a change in the wind direction forced the firefighters to drop back

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of drop back Taylor dropped back three steps and arced a jump ball into the corner over Barron and into the mitts of Sheppard, who appeared to scrape both toes along the turf before the Broncos’ stopper shoved him out of bounds. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 26 Aug. 2026 Tua Tagovailoa dropped back, looked left and fired down the left sideline to Drake London. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 20 Aug. 2026 The forecast dries out through the evening as temperatures drop back into the lower 70s. — Cutter Martin, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026 An underwhelming and nearly green-less teaser first dropped back in March to the enormous groans of Green Lantern faithful everywhere. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 16 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for drop back

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drop back

Verb

Shortly afterwards, Tyler and one of his co-counsels, Shy Jackson, filed motions to withdraw from the case — an act that was widely viewed as a quiet form of protest.

— Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026
Cookies should not be set before consent, should appear the moment consent is granted, should persist across the session and should disappear when a visitor withdraws it.

— Lesa Seibert, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of withdraw

Verb

Officials say people who encounter a wolf should not run, but rather make noises, maintain eye contact and retreat slowly.

— Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
There was television, which, starting in the nineteen-fifties, kept kids indoors; also, houses got a lot bigger, and families smaller, so that most kids suddenly had the option of retreating to their own bedrooms.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of retreat

Verb

His footage reveals the movement of plasma within the loops, including 'coronal rain' as material cools and falls back towards the lower solar atmosphere along magnetic field lines.

— Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 3 Sep. 2026
There is really no way to talk about the film unless one falls back on wispy vagaries and pointed allusions to cinematic precedents, or just explaining the act one set-up and then stopping with the warning that things get really weird thereafter.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of fall back

Verb

Language itself was an obsession, with many family dinners ending with Davis pulling out his unabridged Oxford English Dictionary to share the derivation of a word.

— Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Burden told investigators that Conahan took several photos of him before pulling out a rope and tying him to a tree.

— Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of pull out

Verb

Cathy Engelbert will retire as WNBA commissioner at the end of the year, ending a tenure of seven-plus years that saw both tremendous growth and some turmoil for the league.

— Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Murray leaned on her relationship with teammates, the Nebraska staff and John Cook, the coach who recruited her — and retired after the 2024 season — to survive that time.

— Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026