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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Google spent years beating back legal challenges from authors to its online book library, which included many newer and copyrighted works. Matt O'Brien, Christian Science Monitor, 13 June 2025 Democrats were brimming with confidence earlier in the year after beating back billionaire Elon Musk in Wisconsin's high-stakes state Supreme Court race, where the liberal-leaning candidate prevailed. Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 11 June 2025 That regimen, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is credited with helping beat back the disease in young people. Benjamin Mueller, New York Times, 4 May 2025 He’s beaten back many of the MAGA enthusiasts who think that supporting Israel is throwing good money after bad. Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for beat back

Cite this Entry

“Beat back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat%20back. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

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