walk back

verb

walked back; walking back; walks back

transitive verb

: 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

… 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

Examples of walk back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web On Friday, the Supreme Court walked back a controversial ruling from two years ago that had confounded lower courts. —

Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2024 His previous testimony ended with the two sitting on a bench at Borrego Park, walking back to Woodward’s car. —

Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 20 June 2024 Notably, Haley walked back a recent gaffe about the cause of the U.S. Civil War during the segment. —

David Matthews, New York Daily News, 14 June 2024 Less than a minute later, the two walk back into the hallway and can be seen talking, but the video has no sound. —

Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for walk back

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