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.
Tegan explained the grooming firm picked Honey up from her home in Fochriw and dropped her back off.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
Then, his blind shot to the ninth green came back off the front of the green.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
Deborah famously tried to muzzle Ava a few times, only to back off when she realized that by hurting her protégé, she was wounding herself.
From Salon • May 29, 2026
“Sometimes you just need to show up and talk to the community, to get them to back off, leave it alone.”
From Slate • May 27, 2026
And now they back off, no longer laughing, just watching, watching the back door of the house, the windows, the dark green shades.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
