back out
Britishverb
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Move or retreat backwards without turning; same as back away , def. 1.
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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.
And what happens if a developer comes in and starts a project anyway, only to ultimately back out?
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
“We’re not going to allow it to go back out again,” library manager Michelle Hudson said, joking that staff did not want to wait another 150 years for its next return.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
Any who lingered too long on the coastal path were immediately ushered back out by the soldiers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
He then dashed back out to sea to rescue her daughter.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“I took the crown back out, but the genie’s not going back into the Mirror!”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
