walk back
verb
walked back; walking back; walks back
US
: to retreat from or distance oneself from (a previously stated opinion or position)
… try not to say anything in the primary campaign that you might need to walk back in the general election.—
The Progressive Populist
The Progressive Populist… has tried to walk back his suggestion about Japan, in particular, claiming in recent days that he "never said" that the Asian nation should acquire nuclear weapons.—Julian Hattem
Julian HattemExamples of walk back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump also walked back the tariffs on other countries, implementing a 90-day pause and capping the reciprocal tariffs to 10 percent, except China.
—Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 9 Apr. 2025
What To Know Trump threatened a further 50-percent tariff on Chinese goods from Wednesday unless Beijing walked back its 34-percent tariff and other non-tariff countermeasures against the U.S.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
But this week, when speaking with reporters on Monday, Kennedy seemed to walk back those remarks.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2025
Musk, in recent days, has heavily criticized the Trump administration’s universal and reciprocal tariff plan and has appealed to the president to walk back the levied duties.
—Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for walk back
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Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 9 Apr. 2025
What To Know Trump threatened a further 50-percent tariff on Chinese goods from Wednesday unless Beijing walked back its 34-percent tariff and other non-tariff countermeasures against the U.S.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
But this week, when speaking with reporters on Monday, Kennedy seemed to walk back those remarks.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2025
Musk, in recent days, has heavily criticized the Trump administration’s universal and reciprocal tariff plan and has appealed to the president to walk back the levied duties.
—Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for walk back
Cite this Entry
“Walk back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/walk%20back. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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