as in to back down
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Recent Examples of climb down
La Casa has a large, centralized pool; the beach is a good climb down a pathway carved into the cliff; and the grounds have a grass tennis court and croquet lawn, too.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
But even if the White House finds a ladder to climb down, that may only temper short-term volatility.
—Fred Imbert, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2026
The boys agree to take turns guarding the door, and Bundle shrugs off the latest of Bill’s urgings to stay out of harm’s way to pop back to her room, put on an all-black cat-burglar-type ensemble, and attempt to climb down the ivy from her bedroom to the front of the house.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2026
The man grabbed a ladder and helped his wife safely climb down.
—Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
Gomez jumped off the cover onto the grass below, down nine feet, to get a ladder so his wife could climb down to safety.
—Sierra Van Der Brug, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025
Both sides have appeared to climb down from that latest escalation following eleventh-hour trade talks between top negotiators this weekend in Malaysia.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
His thesis is that if the GOP sticks together, Senate Democrats would have to climb down and accept House Republicans’ spending bill to get through the next seven weeks.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 30 Sep. 2025
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
But even if the White House finds a ladder to climb down, that may only temper short-term volatility.
—Fred Imbert, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2026
The boys agree to take turns guarding the door, and Bundle shrugs off the latest of Bill’s urgings to stay out of harm’s way to pop back to her room, put on an all-black cat-burglar-type ensemble, and attempt to climb down the ivy from her bedroom to the front of the house.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 15 Jan. 2026
The man grabbed a ladder and helped his wife safely climb down.
—Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025
Gomez jumped off the cover onto the grass below, down nine feet, to get a ladder so his wife could climb down to safety.
—Sierra Van Der Brug, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025
Both sides have appeared to climb down from that latest escalation following eleventh-hour trade talks between top negotiators this weekend in Malaysia.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
His thesis is that if the GOP sticks together, Senate Democrats would have to climb down and accept House Republicans’ spending bill to get through the next seven weeks.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for climb down
Verb
-
Crashes, luge athletes will tell you, are part of the game, a necessary teaching tool that helps young lugers learn how to navigate sliding on their back down an icy course, sometimes faster than 90 miles per hour.—
Lindsay Schnell,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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This will help to push the warm air that rises toward the ceiling back down toward floor level.—
Erin Huffstetler,
The Spruce,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The places where tectonic plates pull away from each other are significant too.—
Ben Mather,
Space.com,
7 Feb. 2026
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As the Magic continued to pull away, Dëmin remained the lone constant for Brooklyn.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Climb down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/climb%20down. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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