as in withdrawing
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 dropping back
The Griz constantly pumps the rod to get his bait darting forward and then dropping back.
—
Alex Robinson,
Outdoor Life,
18 June 2026
Vingegaard, in his first day in the pink jersey, alongside Jayco AlUla’s Ben O’Connor and Lidl-Trek’s home hero Giulio Ciccone led discussions with the commissaires, with the Dane dropping back to the organisers’ car with 50km (31 miles) remaining to lead discussions.
—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
The descent comes by bicycle, dropping back through emerald rice terraces and village lanes as the island wakes up around you.
—
Ritu Upadhyay,
Footwear News,
23 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
The Padres won the final two games in San Francisco to win the series, their first after dropping back-to-back series to the Cubs and White Sox.
—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
The warm weather will last through the week before dropping back into more seasonable highs in the 50s and 60s over the weekend.
—
Kylee Miller,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Many of Joseph’s current defensive principles — disguising blitzers indistinguishably from players dropping back into coverage — are similar to what Cincinnati did a decade ago, under defensive coordinator Guenther.
—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
The Longhorns are the one team in the Final Four that has had a two-game losing streak, dropping back-to-back games to LSU and South Carolina in mid-January.
—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Alex Robinson,
Outdoor Life,
18 June 2026
Vingegaard, in his first day in the pink jersey, alongside Jayco AlUla’s Ben O’Connor and Lidl-Trek’s home hero Giulio Ciccone led discussions with the commissaires, with the Dane dropping back to the organisers’ car with 50km (31 miles) remaining to lead discussions.
—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
The descent comes by bicycle, dropping back through emerald rice terraces and village lanes as the island wakes up around you.
—
Ritu Upadhyay,
Footwear News,
23 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
The Padres won the final two games in San Francisco to win the series, their first after dropping back-to-back series to the Cubs and White Sox.
—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
The warm weather will last through the week before dropping back into more seasonable highs in the 50s and 60s over the weekend.
—
Kylee Miller,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Many of Joseph’s current defensive principles — disguising blitzers indistinguishably from players dropping back into coverage — are similar to what Cincinnati did a decade ago, under defensive coordinator Guenther.
—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
The Longhorns are the one team in the Final Four that has had a two-game losing streak, dropping back-to-back games to LSU and South Carolina in mid-January.
—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dropping back
Verb
-
While conventional wisdom had long been that consumers should build up a certain level of savings — six months' worth of living expenses, for example — those who study the accounts now consider saving to be a dynamic process of paying in, withdrawing, and then replenishing.
-
The military held a similar security strip from 1985 until 2000, before withdrawing after years of steady casualties, a toll that is accumulating once again.
Verb
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That may help to explain why premium spirits brands are not retreating in the face of no-and-low.
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But retreating indoors can come at a cost.
Verb
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SpaceX posted huge gains after a record-breaking IPO on June 12, briefly surpassing Amazon and Microsoft in market capitalization, before falling back below both as sentiment cooled.
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And long-term oil prices, which is the biggest influence on the price of gas, don’t show signs of falling back below the pre-war $70 a barrel level any time before the next decade.
Verb
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Kramer agreed, crediting facility partners at Sporting Kansas City, the KC Current, the University of Kansas and the $20-million Swope Soccer Village for pulling out the stops to attract the world’s best teams.
-
An unidentified man wearing blue basketball shorts and a Knicks hat was spotted in a video obtained by ABC News getting down on one knee, pulling out a red box and holding up a ring.
Verb
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With sunbeams gleaming downward, reflecting off of the spacecraft's hull, the Dragon can be seen backing away from the station mere moments after undocking from the port on the station's Harmony module.
-
Big Oil is not backing away from renewables because the energy transition has stopped.
Verb
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Matthews responded by retiring Tommy Edman for the first time in three at-bats and striking out backup catcher Chuckie Robinson.
-
In the 7th Congressional District, Mamdani is backing Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, who is vying to take over retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez's seat.
Cite this Entry
“Dropping back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dropping%20back. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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