as in to back down
to break a promise or agreement
she backed out on her offer to help with the wedding planning
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of back out
He is surrounded by a cast of characters who will be eerily familiar to fans of Suits, as if Korsh plucked personality traits from his original players, threw them in a blender, and poured them back out again into various cutthroat partners and associates.
—
Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 23 Feb. 2025
With no completion date or even a resuming-of-construction date (if ever), all of the buyers have since backed out.
—New Atlas, 22 Feb. 2025
Get those umbrellas back out, Sacramento! After a period of clear skies and seasonably warm weather, the capital region is expected to see some showers as March kicks off, the National Weather Service said.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2025
Join 2 others in the comments View Comments There, the robot will attempt to detect ice before hopping back out of the crater and transmitting data back home.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back out
Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 23 Feb. 2025
With no completion date or even a resuming-of-construction date (if ever), all of the buyers have since backed out.
—New Atlas, 22 Feb. 2025
Get those umbrellas back out, Sacramento! After a period of clear skies and seasonably warm weather, the capital region is expected to see some showers as March kicks off, the National Weather Service said.
—Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2025
Join 2 others in the comments View Comments There, the robot will attempt to detect ice before hopping back out of the crater and transmitting data back home.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for back out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for back out
Verb
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Once the foot is under the ball and has left the ground, a subtle flick of the ankle sends it forward to create the dipping motion that will bring it back down quickly.—
Jordan Campbell,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
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With a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last week sent Brittany Marlowe Holberg's 1998 murder conviction back down to the trial court to decide how to proceed.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Powell backs off, humbled, and watches as Matt leaves the men's room.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
12 Mar. 2025
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On Tuesday, Canada backed off on a 25% surcharge the province of Ontario levied on eletricity exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York after Trump threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA TODAY,
12 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
Verb
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Trump's team has axed foreign assistance contracts and continues to dismantle USAID, which managed $43 billion and had 10,000 members staff in 2023 but has seen thousands of agency employees furloughed, fired or recalled from postings abroad since Trump took office.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
6 Mar. 2025
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Dara Horn; illustrated by Theo Ellsworth Norton Books for Young Readers; ages 8 and up In this wildly imagined, time-travel graphic novel, a family’s seder drags on for six long months, a plight recalled by the teenage son, the story’s protagonist.—
Penny Schwartz,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Back out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/back%20out. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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