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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of back off
Bridges told Thibodeau to 'back off' a bit in the starters' minutes because the bench deserves more.
—
Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Creighton rebounded a UConn miss with about 7 seconds left and a 7-point lead, and the Huskies backed off, allowing the Bluejays to dribble out the clock.
—Ralph D. Russo, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
There has never been reason to think, and there certainly is no reason to think now, that appeasing Putin is going to lead to him backing off from these grander schemes.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2025
Instead of rimming it up the boards to a teammate, the puck ricocheted straight back off the end boards.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back off
Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Creighton rebounded a UConn miss with about 7 seconds left and a 7-point lead, and the Huskies backed off, allowing the Bluejays to dribble out the clock.
—Ralph D. Russo, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
There has never been reason to think, and there certainly is no reason to think now, that appeasing Putin is going to lead to him backing off from these grander schemes.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2025
Instead of rimming it up the boards to a teammate, the puck ricocheted straight back off the end boards.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back off
Verb
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After that, though, Houston went on an 10-0 run to cut it back down to six with just under five minutes to go, as Duke went on a seven-plus-minute stretch of not hitting a shot.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump showed no signs of backing down on his plans to impose tariffs that are more severe than expected.—
Josh Fellman,
Quartz,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In addition to ending several college deals and its on-field NFL pact, Under Armour backed out of an agreement to outfit MLB and paid a penalty.—
Kurt Badenhausen,
Sportico.com,
25 Mar. 2025
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Payton and Brady, once Plan A for the Dolphins, backed out of coming and hiring Mike McDaniel became Plan B. The NFL investigated Flores’ allegation that Ross offered money to lose games.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
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About 20 minutes later, the two cops out in front were joined by a third officer.—
Melody Chiu,
People.com,
7 Jan. 2025
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The judges avoid giving critiques to the girls this week but do talk among one another, which is kind of weird but also means that nobody gets to cop out of Rate-a-Queen and just imitate the judges.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
3 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20off. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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