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Synonyms

back out

British  

verb

  1. to withdraw (from an agreement, etc)

"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
back out Idioms  

  1. Move or retreat backwards without turning; same as back away , def. 1.

  2. Also, back out of something . Withdraw from a situation, or break an agreement or engagement. For example, After the announcement appeared in the papers, Mary found it doubly difficult to back out of her engagement to Todd . [Early 1800s] Also see go back on .

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.

Since summer is almost here, you might face some annoyance or pushback from your friends for waiting this long to back out.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

He ran back out of the tunnel and re-emerged to a roar from the Metropolitano.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

Meta has already integrated Manus’s AI agent software into its products, but is preparing to back out of the deal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

He said he went “all in” to win an F1 seat following his first IndyCar title in 2021, but doubts about whether he’d be given a competitive car led him to back out.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

The robot watched as the puffin took off and headed back out to catch another meal.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

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.