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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of back off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But now, operatives in both parties predicted that having a Democratic nominee who's not dogged by such weighty baggage takes those states back off the table, recalibrating the race back to the Rust and Sun Belts.
—
Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 26 July 2024
Well, the short answer is that despite these wide-scale attacks on DEI from conservative critics, companies by and large are not backing off their commitments to DEI, and a much smaller but not insignificant percentage are actually increasing their efforts.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 July 2024
Yet back off the throttle a little and the Emeya is relaxing over long distances.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 20 July 2024
The tension between the U.S. and China has persisted, with neither American administration willing to back off on punitive duties.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for back off 
Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 26 July 2024
Well, the short answer is that despite these wide-scale attacks on DEI from conservative critics, companies by and large are not backing off their commitments to DEI, and a much smaller but not insignificant percentage are actually increasing their efforts.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 July 2024
Yet back off the throttle a little and the Emeya is relaxing over long distances.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 20 July 2024
The tension between the U.S. and China has persisted, with neither American administration willing to back off on punitive duties.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for back off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'back off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to back off
Thesaurus Entries Near back off
Cite this Entry
“Back off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20off. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share