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
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
Gold’s price rallied near $5,600 per ounce in the morning before suddenly and briefly dropping back below $5,200.
—Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Rieder’s odds topped 60% on Polymarket and Kalshi this weekend before dropping back slightly, while the previous front runner Warsh saw his odds fall sharply to around 30%.
—Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Against Florida, Dell’Orso noticed the Gators big men were dropping back only half of the time.
—Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
Conner plays everywhere, from the box to the nickel to dropping back as a free safety.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026
The Peak 2 Peak Gondola makes moving between the two seamless, linking the mountains at high elevation so skiers can switch terrain without dropping back to the village.
—Bailey Berg, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Jan. 2026
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
Jack Perry, The Providence Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
Gold’s price rallied near $5,600 per ounce in the morning before suddenly and briefly dropping back below $5,200.
—Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Rieder’s odds topped 60% on Polymarket and Kalshi this weekend before dropping back slightly, while the previous front runner Warsh saw his odds fall sharply to around 30%.
—Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Against Florida, Dell’Orso noticed the Gators big men were dropping back only half of the time.
—Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
Conner plays everywhere, from the box to the nickel to dropping back as a free safety.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026
The Peak 2 Peak Gondola makes moving between the two seamless, linking the mountains at high elevation so skiers can switch terrain without dropping back to the village.
—Bailey Berg, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Jan. 2026
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
-
India agreed to draw down its purchases, thereby withdrawing a critical financial lifeline for Russia amid its war against Ukraine.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Investigators said Neves-Valente was a former Brown University student who attended the Ivy League school from 2000 to 2001 as part of a PhD program in physics before formally withdrawing in the fall of 2003.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Dinner usually means a lively table at Sweet Basil or Mountain Standard before retreating back to the hotel for a nightcap and a hot tub soak.—
Bailey Berg,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Software stocks led the latest downdraft, with the S & P 500 software index sliding 5% Thursday and retreating for a seventh straight day, helping push the entire S & P 500 lower for a third day.—
Scott Schnipper,
CNBC,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Despite a calamitous financial outlook, its share price has shown resiliency — soaring to an all-time high of almost $500 last month before falling back to around $422 this morning after the Q4 reveal.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Grande has previously shared her desire to return to theater after falling back in love with acting through the filming of Wicked.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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More than half of what scientists are pulling out of that frozen ground has never been cataloged.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Fans of Harry Styles are pulling out all the stops — and even some blood — in an effort to afford tickets for his upcoming world tour.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In a nation backing away from previous diversity commitments, there is little societal pressure for NFL owners to be better.—
Jerry Brewer,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
-
At least six city councilors, Culpepper, Ed Flynn, Ruthzee Louijeune, Julia Mejia, Erin Murphy and Brian Worrell, swiftly issued statements or wrote to Wu administration officials expressing concern about backing away from prior commitments made to the majority-Black and brown community.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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On the supply side, Baby Boomers are aging and retiring, population growth has slowed, and there’s been a sharp reduction in immigration and an increase in deportations.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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These include retiring the legacy B-1 and B-2 bombers only after sufficient B-21 aircraft are operational, and accelerating the procurement of existing fifth-generation fighters such as the F-35 and the F-15EX, as well as autonomous collaborative combat drones.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dropping back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dropping%20back. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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