as in to back down
to break a promise or agreement
she backed out on her offer to help with the wedding planning
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of back out
He is surrounded by a cast of characters who will be eerily familiar to fans of Suits, as if Korsh plucked personality traits from his original players, threw them in a blender, and poured them back out again into various cutthroat partners and associates.
—
Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 23 Feb. 2025
With no completion date or even a resuming-of-construction date (if ever), all of the buyers have since backed out.
—New Atlas, 22 Feb. 2025
Get those umbrellas back out, Sacramento! After a period of clear skies and seasonably warm weather, the capital region is expected to see some showers as March kicks off, the National Weather Service said.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2025
Join 2 others in the comments View Comments There, the robot will attempt to detect ice before hopping back out of the crater and transmitting data back home.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back out
Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 23 Feb. 2025
With no completion date or even a resuming-of-construction date (if ever), all of the buyers have since backed out.
—New Atlas, 22 Feb. 2025
Get those umbrellas back out, Sacramento! After a period of clear skies and seasonably warm weather, the capital region is expected to see some showers as March kicks off, the National Weather Service said.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2025
Join 2 others in the comments View Comments There, the robot will attempt to detect ice before hopping back out of the crater and transmitting data back home.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back out
Verb
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Once the foot is under the ball and has left the ground, a subtle flick of the ankle sends it forward to create the dipping motion that will bring it back down quickly.—
Jordan Campbell,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
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After Kent Denver hits back-to-back 3s, The Academy responds with an and-one to shave the lead back down to 10.—
Patrick Saunders,
The Denver Post,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump backed off his threat to double the steel and aluminum tariff rates for Canada after Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to pause surcharges on electricity for US customers.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN,
12 Mar. 2025
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On Tuesday, Canada backed off on a 25% surcharge the province of Ontario levied on eletricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York after Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA TODAY,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
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About 20 minutes later, the two cops out in front were joined by a third officer.—
Melody Chiu,
People.com,
7 Jan. 2025
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The judges avoid giving critiques to the girls this week but do talk among one another, which is kind of weird but also means that nobody gets to cop out of Rate-a-Queen and just imitate the judges.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
3 Jan. 2025
Verb
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These goals do not include muddying the waters by recalling reinforcements and putting them in difficult ice.—
Fluto Shinzawa,
The Athletic,
18 Mar. 2025
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Tim recalls a project in Tennessee where a student housing development had to comply with both Knoxville’s local building code and the state fire marshal’s additional jurisdictional requirements.—
Tyler Shepherd,
USA TODAY,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20out. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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