as in to back down
to break a promise or agreement
you'd better not back off on your promise to do all the planning for the big dance
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of back off
Trump backed off his quest for a cease-fire after meeting with Putin, and repeated that a larger peace deal can be achieved while the fighting continues.
—
Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025
But it was not previously known that Moulton initially turned on his lights and then, as the pursuit began, turned them back off.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
There’s no telling if the Bermuda High will back off as the season continues, but it is supposed to weaken a bit in the coming days.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
Those ahead of him backed off, reluctant to engage.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back off
Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2025
But it was not previously known that Moulton initially turned on his lights and then, as the pursuit began, turned them back off.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
There’s no telling if the Bermuda High will back off as the season continues, but it is supposed to weaken a bit in the coming days.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2025
Those ahead of him backed off, reluctant to engage.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back off
Verb
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Supported by 7 large air tankers and multiple helicopters, firefighters worked directly along the active edge on the southwest corner to tie fire line back down to the river to prevent westward spread, and worked dozers in across the top of the fire, opening roads and old lines from previous fires.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Analysis: Casey had a strong pro season, impressing out of Devils camp and playing well in the AHL when he was sent back down after briefly making the NHL team.—
Corey Pronman,
New York Times,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Eight selective colleges signed on last spring to accept Dialogues portfolios as part of a pilot project, but two of them — Vanderbilt University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — backed out in July.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
28 Aug. 2025
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However, five months later, USF backed out of the commitment, Taylor told the Miami Herald.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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On Thursday, there were 652 officers on the force, with nearly 100 cops out on some kind of administrative or medical leave.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 Aug. 2025
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But with that brief wave of hope came new footage on Twitter every night of the NYPD acting like bad cops out of a Harvey Keitel flick: cops harassing peaceful crowds, cops kettling activists, cops literally driving a car into a crowd of protestors.—
Maris Kreizman,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20off. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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