backdown
a withdrawal from a previously held position, especially in the face of superior power or upon further consideration.
Origin of backdown
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use backdown in a sentence
I have chickened out twice, and I am determined not to back down.
We drove back down the hill, and the driver let me out near the Prado.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind | Brin-Jonathan Butler | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThat means it probably flew back up as much as a kilometer before coming back down.
“I drop back down to, ‘I got three seasons with Aaron Sorkin,’” he says.
Jeff Daniels Defends Aaron Sorkin and the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Toilet Scene | Kevin Fallon | November 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs the film starts, the organ sinks back down below the stage where the musician can be heard and not seen.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso | Rich Goldstein | October 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She had made up her mind that at the first sign of danger she would turn Nabob and make a dash back down the trail for safety.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle | Laura Lee HopeShe had the grit to pray for Judus if she took the notion—there warn't no back-down to her, I judge.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)A wood-thrush flitted from a ravine as she and Bub went back down the creek—and she stopped with uplifted face to listen.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | John Fox, Jr.I straightened him, and put my coat across his face, and spurred back down the road again and over the gate.
The Way of a Man | Emerson HoughTwo of our party were for turning back down the valley, but Auberry said he could see no advantage in that.
The Way of a Man | Emerson Hough
British Dictionary definitions for back down
(intr, adverb) to withdraw an earlier claim
(tr) rowing to cause (a boat) to move backwards by pushing rather than pulling on the oars
abandonment of an earlier claim
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with backdown
Reverse one's upward course, descend. For example, When she saw the wasps' nest on the roof, she hastily backed down the ladder. This literal usage usually refers to something one has climbed, such as a ladder or mountain. [Mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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