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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dropping back
Verb
-
Carlos Alcaraz isn’t in the tournament after withdrawing because of a wrist injury.—
Dan Zaksheske,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
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Depending on the circumstances, you may be restricted from withdrawing funds, making purchases with your debit card, transferring money or paying bills.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Haiti continues to stand before far larger powers — culturally, economically, politically — without retreating.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2026
-
The video appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Chuck reveled in calling himself the mayor of the townsite, including its numerous log cabins, all in various states of falling back to the earth.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
3 June 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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When Krick and Stagg enter the command boardroom to present their opposing cases mere hours before a decision must be made, the film slips into a type of courtroom drama of stormy exchanges from the benches, with both Stagg and Krick pulling out all the stops to get their forecasts approved.—
Daniel Jonah Wolpert,
NPR,
29 May 2026
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Unsurprisingly, given the scale and scope of the tournament, and the stage hosting in the US offers, FIFA is pulling out all the entertainment stops.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
Verb
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The statement came amid reports that the DOJ was backing away from the fund.—
Katherine Faulders,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
-
Trump’s favorite hometown newspaper — backing away from his previous support of the filibuster.—
Thomas Beaumont,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2026
Verb
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The owner, Tom Furrier, was retiring after 45 years, closing up shop, and selling off the last of his stock.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Twelve Democrats are competing to replace Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, who is retiring after five terms.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dropping back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dropping%20back. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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