How to Use backtrack in a Sentence

backtrack

verb
Definition of backtracknext
Synonyms for backtracknext
  • The hikers realized they had made a wrong turn and would have to backtrack.
  • Let me backtrack for a moment and pick up our previous conversation.
  • Rather than squeeze through the crowd, she was forced to backtrack to another sidewalk.
    — Nora Mishanec, SFChronicle.com, 16 Oct. 2020
  • Several institutions that opened have had to backtrack, close, and alter their plans on the fly.
    — C. Brandon Ogbunu, Wired, 2 Sep. 2020
  • This isn’t the first time Mullen has had to backtrack after saying or doing something stupid in recent weeks.
    — Mike Bianchi, orlandosentinel.com, 2 Nov. 2020
  • Within three weeks of the first school districts reopening in Tennessee, more than a few have had to backtrack.
    — Kate Gibson, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2020
  • But notably, the apology memo didn’t backtrack on his assessment of the talent pipeline.
    — Heather Landy, Quartz at Work, 30 Sep. 2020
  • Some states had to backtrack on reopenings, and businesses and households everywhere have turned more skittish.
    — Mark Zandi For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, 24 Aug. 2020
  • To quickly backtrack from highlighting these issues might paint the council as beholden more to politics than medicine.
    — Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2020
  • Some opened with in-person classes only to backtrack after facing coronavirus cases.
    — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 21 Aug. 2020
  • The Brazilian real briefly erased early gains as investor hopes that the government would backtrack on its plan appeared to be wishful thinking.
    — Martha Viotti Beck, Bloomberg.com, 29 Sep. 2020
  • Successive presidents have pledged to remove the subsidy, which drains a hefty chunk of government revenue — and later backtracked fearing mass unrest.
    — Ismail Auwal Taiwo Aina, New York Times, 11 June 2024
  • But the government had to backtrack this week, encouraging home-working as Covid-19 infections surge.
    — John Detrixhe, Quartz, 24 Sep. 2020
  • Even Hannah understands how repulsive unapologetic female ambition is, and at the last minute, tries to backtrack.
    — Emma Pattee, Marie Claire, 10 Nov. 2020
  • Pritzker has faced withering criticism in recent weeks for refusing to backtrack on his decision to postpone some fall sports – including much-beloved high school football.
    — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2020
  • So kind of like backtrack the ball and start driving it the other way.
    — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2023
  • Leaders in the United States and Britain have promised too much too soon, and have had to backtrack.
    — New York Times, 22 Aug. 2021
  • The group backtracked the next day, but many were outraged and accused the group of antisemitism.
    — Clyde McGrady, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Many brands backtrack at the first sign of repercussions.
    — Dorothy Crenshaw, Forbes, 21 May 2021
  • Cole breaks through the bedroom door and tries to guide his brother out of the party, backtracking through the house.
    — Jen Yamato, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2023
  • Since then, the Fed has backtracked to some extent and slightly modified its stance to bear some of the blame.
    — Steve H. Hanke, National Review, 4 May 2023
  • Weeks of protests against the reform have not convinced the government to backtrack on the effort.
    — Claire Parker, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2023
  • The figures follow a year when the company backtracked on many of its plans.
    — Patrick Frater, Variety, 14 May 2024
  • Those who find themselves at the trail closure itself can backtrack and walk straight through the campground to find the trail at the entrance.
    — oregonlive, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Mazda backtracked to drums for the rear brakes; the previous ES had solid discs.
    — Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, 1 June 2023
  • When you’re done, backtrack to cross the suspension bridge, which leads to the last stretch of the trail: a 2.2-mile climb to the stone shelter at the summit of Cape Perpetua.
    — oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2023
  • The ban was short-lived, though, as the school district backtracked after major backlash.
    — The Week Staff, theweek, 24 May 2024
  • The reaction caused WhatsApp to backtrack on its plans.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 15 Jan. 2021
  • Brown expressed support for the plan during his 2022 bid, but has backtracked in the face of criticism this time around.
    — Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 9 June 2024
  • Soon, it was forced to backtrack and acknowledge that Johnson had in fact been informed.
    — Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 6 July 2022

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

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