back out
Britishverb
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Move or retreat backwards without turning; same as back away , def. 1.
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Also, back out of something . Withdraw from a situation, or break an agreement or engagement. For example, After the announcement appeared in the papers, Mary found it doubly difficult to back out of her engagement to Todd . [Early 1800s] Also see go back on .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Returning from compassionate leave, he said his father would have wanted him "back out there" to bring forward "the changes that he always pushed me to make".
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
After Lowe’s expulsion, Habib reached back out to Musk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
“So much investment has been made, when you make an investment and you pull it back out, you get the dividend,” Harbaugh said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
After a quiet opener, Taylor - who turned professional in 2016 - burst into life in the second round, firing quick combinations before darting back out of range.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
After Mrs. Kuen’s visit there had been brief talk of canceling the trip, but getting the merchant-status travel permits had been too much to go through only to back out in the end.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
