as in withdrawing
to solemnly or formally reject or go back on (as something formerly adhered to)
I take back what I said about her: she's not the fool I thought she was
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Recent Examples of taking back
Monday's trading was a reminder that geopolitical conflicts have a limited impact on the stock market , pricing in the worst-case scenario early before taking back that risk.
—
Sarah Min, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
Dallas would neuter Finland by taking back Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell, plus Jake Oettinger in net.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 23 Feb. 2026
The Chapter 11 filing and Saks’ bankruptcy stay shouldn’t prevent the landlord from taking back the two locations because the leases were terminated shortly before the retailer sought court protection, Simon said.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
With that in mind, Democrats should still be optimistic about taking back the House, even short of a landslide.
—Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Steven Spielberg is taking back his crown as the king of the summer blockbuster.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Feb. 2026
Decades later, Shields is taking back control of her narrative in the form of a two-part documentary series.
—Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, and Kaine said the resolution would show Congress taking back its inherent authority from the President.
—Brian Bennett, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
Willingly taking back an inefficient contract from a contender, even if that contract has term involved, is just a more extreme application of this basic logic.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Sarah Min, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
Dallas would neuter Finland by taking back Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell, plus Jake Oettinger in net.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 23 Feb. 2026
The Chapter 11 filing and Saks’ bankruptcy stay shouldn’t prevent the landlord from taking back the two locations because the leases were terminated shortly before the retailer sought court protection, Simon said.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
With that in mind, Democrats should still be optimistic about taking back the House, even short of a landslide.
—Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Steven Spielberg is taking back his crown as the king of the summer blockbuster.
—Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Feb. 2026
Decades later, Shields is taking back control of her narrative in the form of a two-part documentary series.
—Ilana Gordon, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Feb. 2026
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, and Kaine said the resolution would show Congress taking back its inherent authority from the President.
—Brian Bennett, Time, 14 Jan. 2026
Willingly taking back an inefficient contract from a contender, even if that contract has term involved, is just a more extreme application of this basic logic.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taking back
Verb
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Daines later said withdrawing earlier could have enticed a prominent Democrat like Tester to enter the race.—
Kirk Siegler,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
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Chock and Bates decided not to pursue a fourth straight ice dance world championship, joining Olympic teammate Alysa Liu in withdrawing from the worlds, a common decision for skaters who compete at the Winter Games.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The ruthlessness of the producers cutting folk off mid-speech or retracting the microphone and upping the music volume was belittling to those on stage.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
16 Mar. 2026
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The actress has no interest in retracting her comments.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Returning to the guitars that characterized the band’s earliest work without renouncing their latter-day synths, MacFarlane gives Graham’s ruminations an urgent tenderness.—
Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
Pitchfork,
31 Mar. 2026
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The association filed several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the fee, including one that remains pending that argues there should be no cost for renouncing one’s citizenship.—
Matthew Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The president has gone so far as repealing a longtime scientific finding that climate change endangers public health and the environment.—
Matthew Daly,
San Antonio Express-News,
23 Mar. 2026
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Johnson, of the American Cancer Society, pushed back on arguments that repealing the program would save the state money.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Insurance kept denying me anyway.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
4 Apr. 2026
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Chawinga is known for her help-defense — denying passes to players in those spaces, or even closing down the player sending in such crosses.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The administration contends this interpretation aligns with historical constitutional understanding rather than contradicting it.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
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Suspicion turned to anger when scientific leaders kept contradicting his embrace of hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, and convalescent plasma.—
David Blumenthal,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Taking back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taking%20back. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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