backtrack
Americanverb (used without object)
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to return over the same course or route.
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to withdraw from an undertaking, position, etc.; reverse a policy.
verb
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to return by the same route by which one has come
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to retract or reverse one's opinion, action, policy, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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backtracksimple
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backtrackssimple
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have backtrackedperfect
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has backtrackedperfect
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am backtrackingprogressive
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are backtrackingprogressive
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is backtrackingprogressive
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have been backtrackingperfect progressive
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has been backtrackingperfect progressive
Past
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backtrackedsimple
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had backtrackedperfect
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was backtrackingprogressive
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were backtrackingprogressive
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had been backtrackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of backtrack
Explanation
When you backtrack, you return somewhere you've already been, or retrace steps you've already taken. You might backtrack to find something you lost on your way down the sidewalk. When you walk out the door and realize you must have put your keys down somewhere, you'll probably backtrack through your house, looking for them. You can also backtrack in a figurative way, changing an opinion or a stance on something: "The city promised to build a new library, but now that the budget is so tight I bet they'll backtrack" The original use of the word referred to a technique in fox hunting.
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.
See Examples For:
But the legal arguments in this letter were so weak that no one pursued them seriously, and the Department of Justice later had to backtrack the arguments in court.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026
“The President has this tendency to TACO,” he said, referring to Trump’s tendency to announce tough policies only to backtrack on those announcements later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
In September, mere hours after Charlie Kirk was killed, Patel prematurely announced a suspect had been apprehended — only to have to backtrack when authorities had taken the wrong man into custody.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026
The boss told analysts Starbucks did not plan to backtrack on its labour investments as it hunts for savings, confident that what sets the firm apart is not its coffee, but its cafes.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
I tried to think of what to type, how to backtrack, when another text came in.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
Things have changed in the half-century since “Forever…” was published, even subtracting the years the series backtracks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
To do so, the complex moves down DNA chains in one direction, but backtracks in certain scenarios.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024
The resulting protests — the largest since a cost of living crisis last July — have sparked a series of backtracks from President Laurentino Cortizo.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
Playing over the game, the result makes perfect sense: White plays way better than Black, with simple, strong developing moves while Carlsen wastes time and backtracks to no obvious purpose.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
Garden paths can turn the experience of reading from an effortless glide through a sentence to a tedious two-step of little backtracks.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
In April, Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa floated the idea of charging vessels to cross the strait, but later backtracked.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
The president backtracked on his threat to strike Iran’s power plants after a series of closed-door discussions led by Middle Eastern intermediaries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
"I immediately backtracked and went to the next one to be greeted by the same situation."
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
Meanwhile the U.S. backtracked from a claim that it’s helped tankers go through the contested passageway.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 11, 2026
Seven nodded at Valley and Thorn and then quietly backtracked the few toadstools to Alaric’s desk.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
The CJP accused the government of backtracking after authorities had assured them that no punitive action would be taken against protesters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Happily, the backtracking and throat-clearing ends a little less than halfway through, and from then on it’s all baseball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
But backtracking and regrets have no place here.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
Silberfeld’s optimism arose from the agency’s apparent backtracking from plans unveiled in a January court hearing to install up to 800 tiny homes on the property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
We had spent all day struggling and backtracking in the cut-up, crevassed area east of the Fire-Hills; We were tired that evening but elated, sure that a clear course would soon open out ahead.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
