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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Recent Examples of drop back
The low Wednesday night is expected to drop back into the mid-50s as cooler weather moves in, NWS forecasts.
—
Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 17 May 2026
Bonitto, though, explained that Denver already played Elliss at ILB on several third-down packages last year, and lauded his ability to drop back in coverage.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
When opening an app, the CPU would spike to 96% before dropping back to more pedestrian 17% usage after a couple of seconds.
—Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 8 May 2026
On Mother’s Day, temperatures drop back to around 70 degrees, with mostly sunny skies.
—Kansas City Star, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for drop back
Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 17 May 2026
Bonitto, though, explained that Denver already played Elliss at ILB on several third-down packages last year, and lauded his ability to drop back in coverage.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 14 May 2026
When opening an app, the CPU would spike to 96% before dropping back to more pedestrian 17% usage after a couple of seconds.
—Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 8 May 2026
On Mother’s Day, temperatures drop back to around 70 degrees, with mostly sunny skies.
—Kansas City Star, 7 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for drop back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drop back
Verb
-
Hulst and Toomey decided to withdraw from the mile at the State meet.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
Generally, the pre-tax money that’s deposited in traditional IRAs cannot be withdrawn before age 59½ without paying a 10% early-withdrawal tax penalty, unless an exception is met.—
Sarah Agostino,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Luna and Lee both believe frustration will die down by November about trash fees and Balboa Park parking, which the City Council retreated on by agreeing to a complex deal last month.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 June 2026
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To their credit, the Wayans don’t entirely retreat from controversy.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 June 2026
Verb
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By the time the survivors reached the Great Plains, the Acme and Itala had fallen back, but the Shawmut and two Fords continued to trade leads.—
Eric Moskowitz,
The Atlantic,
31 May 2026
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Lee also had a solid showing at last week’s CIF Southern Section Individual Final, quickly getting to 2 under and staying near the top of the leaderboard before falling back to even par to finish in a tie for 26th place.—
Matt Wagner,
Daily News,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Roberts pulled Ohtani after the Dodgers pulled out to a seven-run lead in the top of the seventh inning.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
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Instead of those handle halves folding around close to 180 degrees to reveal a central set of pliers like many other Leathermans do, one of the Crunch's handles pulls out and swings downward via an internal arm to reveal the pliers, which in turn swing into position.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 June 2026
Verb
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After teaching at Bard College for over two decades, Sante has retired from academia and lives in Kingston, New York.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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Deputy Public Defender Carlos Bido said in court that Perry is retired and received an honorable discharge from the military.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drop back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drop%20back. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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