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 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
Last week, the quarterback shared a video of himself dropping back to throw on his official Instagram account.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
Brent crude oil prices on Thursday briefly topped $119 per barrel before dropping back down.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 19 Mar. 2026
Tree pollen in Austin is forecast to be very high on Wednesday, then climb to extreme levels Thursday through Saturday, before dropping back to very high on Sunday and Monday.
—Mary Wasson, Austin American Statesman, 18 Mar. 2026
Jefferson Lerma performed reasonably well after dropping back from midfield, is strong in the air and offers experience despite it not being his primary position, but his hamstring injury against Burnley on February 11 meant even fewer options.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Sunday will bring a lot of sunshine, but the temperature will reach only about 17 degrees before dropping back into the single digits Sunday night.
—Jack Perry, The Providence Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
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
Last week, the quarterback shared a video of himself dropping back to throw on his official Instagram account.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
Brent crude oil prices on Thursday briefly topped $119 per barrel before dropping back down.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 19 Mar. 2026
Tree pollen in Austin is forecast to be very high on Wednesday, then climb to extreme levels Thursday through Saturday, before dropping back to very high on Sunday and Monday.
—Mary Wasson, Austin American Statesman, 18 Mar. 2026
Jefferson Lerma performed reasonably well after dropping back from midfield, is strong in the air and offers experience despite it not being his primary position, but his hamstring injury against Burnley on February 11 meant even fewer options.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Sunday will bring a lot of sunshine, but the temperature will reach only about 17 degrees before dropping back into the single digits Sunday night.
—Jack Perry, The Providence Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dropping back
Verb
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Slovenia began preemptively withdrawing all HiPP products from shelves of Spar and other supermarkets, its health inspectorate said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
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After withdrawing their endorsement of Swalwell, the California Teacher’s Association put its support behind Steyer, a sure blow to Porter, who has also sought to win the support of unions.—
Douglas Schoen,
Oc Register,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On the arm of the sofa, where he had been seated just minutes before retreating into his bedroom for a few minutes of shut-eye, was a block of brown and white ice.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Large investors flip to net sellers Larger investors are already retreating from the single-family market.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Baker either avoided directly answering any questions related to the Massachusetts political arena, falling back on his new role at the NCAA for taking him away from the Bay State.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
23 Apr. 2026
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The Citi team, led by Max Layton and Francisco Martoccia, would then see Brent crude prices averaging around $110 this quarter before falling back to $80 in the fourth quarter.—
Brian Sullivan,
CNBC,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Charged with pulling out of Mary the hurt inside, Coel exquisitely performs the task with the precision of an elite surgeon.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
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The Madrid Open is losing some star power with Carlos Alcaraz joining Novak Djokovic in pulling out of the upcoming clay-court tournament Friday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Her announcement touched off a new round of progressive candidates backing away from the Iron Dome.—
Andrew Lapin,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
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Video footage from the apartment complex showed Kirkland speaking to several people in the Jeep before backing away and collapsing, the court document said.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Topal is considering retiring this year.—
Audrey Pachuta,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
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Jordan Leasure entered and threw a wild pitch to score Gelof and make it 7-4 before retiring Jacob Wilson on a foul popup.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dropping back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dropping%20back. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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