as in backing out
to break a promise or agreement
if you back down about dinner again, I'm not going to agree to another date
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Recent Examples of backing down
Tehran shows no signs of backing down.
—
Michael Loria, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Iran, meanwhile, gave no signs of backing down.
—David Rising, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 20 Mar. 2026
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
It's been all A&M tonight, but Saint Mary's isn't backing down.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 19 Mar. 2026
But the White House is not backing down.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 17 Mar. 2026
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Prakash Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anthropic isn’t backing down from its position about AI in defense.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
Michael Loria, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Iran, meanwhile, gave no signs of backing down.
—David Rising, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 20 Mar. 2026
But Iran showed no signs of backing down.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
It's been all A&M tonight, but Saint Mary's isn't backing down.
—Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 19 Mar. 2026
But the White House is not backing down.
—Ed Silverman, STAT, 17 Mar. 2026
But Paxton and his allies are showing no signs of backing down.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Prakash Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images Anthropic isn’t backing down from its position about AI in defense.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for backing down
Verb
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The Florida and Texas metros with the highest share of stale listings are all solid buyer’s markets, where buyers have the upper hand over sellers and can negotiate lower prices as well as backing out of unfavorable deals.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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Buyers are also increasingly backing out of deals, rather than settling for homes that may not be the perfect fit.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tonevich started backing off, pulling his stun gun.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Treasury yields and the dollar retreated, with traders backing off some of their more hawkish Federal Reserve bets, pricing in a few basis points worth of easing this year.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Backing down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backing%20down. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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