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Synonyms

back away

Idioms  

  1. Walk backward, as in He cautiously backed away from the fire .

  2. Gradually retreat, withdraw, as in Since he couldn't convince his colleagues, he's backing away from his original idea . Both usages employ the verb back in the sense of “retreat,” dating from the late 1400s. Also see back down ; back out .

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.

But there have been some stumbling blocks: Most notably, OpenAI had to back away from a checkout feature that allowed purchasing through ChatGPT — apparently, the feature failed to work all the time.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 25, 2026

If one encounters a potentially dangerous snake, stop and back away, keeping a good distance from the snake.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

Jamie George insists England's slump in the Six Nations Championship is a temporary affair, with the hooker confident the side will bounce back away to Italy.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Until it is, there remains the potential for Maguire to either strike a deal with another club - which, under freedom of contract regulations, he is entitled to do - or United back away.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

Only then do I get up and back away from him, making sure to hold out my hands so that the cops can see them clearly.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

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.