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.
One morning, Margaret notices a red cardinal in her kitchen, meeting its eyes before it departs back out her window.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026
Until those runs, Roberts said he’d been considering sending Ohtani back out for the seventh.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
Businesses said it had been a "shambles" with trade already dropping dramatically and lorries getting stuck and having to reverse back out of town.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
“That’s an incredible number,” he said, adding that even after you back out technology stocks from that figure, earnings were still up an impressive 14%.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
I listened drowsily to the soothing cadence of Togbe’s voice taking me back out onto the Volta, where the boy was fishing with his father, exploring a small creek in their canoe.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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.
