back off
Britishverb
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(intr) to retreat
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(tr) to abandon (an intention, objective, etc)
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See back down , def. 2.
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Relent, abandon one's stand. For example, The chairman wanted to sell one division but later backed off . [Mid-1900s]
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.
"I believe that as more people do try and back off away from screens and digital experiences, theatre will experience a boom."
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen is reportedly weighing whether to back off his plan to buy eBay outright and to find a different way to work with the online auction site instead.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Did she back off on a premise that is dead on arrival in the current cultural firmament?
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
“I think we are certainly more prepared to back off on the workload if it calls for it. But Shohei wants to be out there as much as he possibly can.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Every time I’d tell them to back off, to cut this short, they’d turn to Ocean for support.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
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.
