beat back

phrasal verb

beat back; beaten back or beat back; beating back; beats back

: to force (someone) to go back or to retreat by fighting

Our troops were beaten back by enemy forces.

Police used batons to beat the protesters back.

Examples of beat back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But in the immediate aftermath of that announcement, Hamas attacked Israel; the war in Gaza erupted; Palestinian casualties surpassed 35,000 and Ukraine continues its fight to beat back Russian invaders. —

Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 25 June 2024 The most high-profile primary Tuesday will be Bowman’s fight to beat back a challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a centrist Democrat, in New York’s 16th Congressional District. —

Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 25 June 2024 For far too long, American history has operated under the Great Man theory, which posits that brave individuals who beat back haters and doubters accomplish great things, not the masses. —

Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2024 Image While Raziq’s tactics worked in some respects, beating back the Taliban in Kandahar and earning him the admiration of many who opposed them, the strategy came at a clear cost. —

Matthieu Aikins Bryan Denton, New York Times, 22 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for beat back

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beat back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.