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
Some backups go through every tiny detail of the pre and at-snap routine, even dropping back with a ball in their hand but stopping short of throwing it.
—
Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
As moisture increases later this week, a cooling trend will commence with temperatures dropping back into the normal range by Friday.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Six of them could be rushing, or those same six could be dropping back into coverage.
—Omar Kelly
august 5, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2025
Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
As moisture increases later this week, a cooling trend will commence with temperatures dropping back into the normal range by Friday.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Six of them could be rushing, or those same six could be dropping back into coverage.
—Omar Kelly
august 5, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dropping back
Verb
-
Ciattarelli called it an affordability crisis and has called for withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an agreement among Northeast states to cap their emissions.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
4 Nov. 2025
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Elsewhere in the league, Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas declared for the draft last year out of Greece before withdrawing.—
Sam Vecenie,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.—
Erin Somers,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
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Even with state and federal backing, developers are retreating and selling properties, signaling that grassroots activism is fundamentally reshaping Big Tech’s expansion strategy.—
Marc Levy,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In 2023, federal lawmakers introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, a proposal to make daylight saving time permanent, meaning no more springing forward or falling back.—
Evan Moore,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Oct. 2025
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For example, Comet Halley barely crosses the orbit of Neptune before falling back into the inner solar system.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This usually requires pulling out any hair that gets trapped between the bristles.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
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Georgia is either extremely fortunate or extremely tough — possibly both — to keep pulling out these close Ws.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
If lions are spotted, make noise to scare them from the area, hold objects overhead to appear bigger and start backing away from the animal.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
2 Jan. 2026
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After backing away from the giant mammal, the influencer then moves closer again, jumping back once more when the elephant attempts to grab him with its trunk.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Leaders like former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and retiring Partnership for New York City CEO, Kathryn Wylde come to mind.—
Sally Susman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
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Sonya Evans stays in District 4 Sonya Evans, a former Blue Valley School District parent, made the jump to district leadership in 2023 when she was tapped to replace a retiring Kaety Bowers.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dropping back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dropping%20back. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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