backtrack
Americanverb (used without object)
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backtracks,
present (3rd person singular)
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backtracked,
past participle, past
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backtracking
present participle
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to return over the same course or route.
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to withdraw from an undertaking, position, etc.; reverse a policy.
verb
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to return by the same route by which one has come
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to retract or reverse one's opinion, action, policy, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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backtracksimple
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backtrackssimple
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have backtrackedperfect
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has backtrackedperfect
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am backtrackingprogressive
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are backtrackingprogressive
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is backtrackingprogressive
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have been backtrackingperfect progressive
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has been backtrackingperfect progressive
Past
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backtrackedsimple
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had backtrackedperfect
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was backtrackingprogressive
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were backtrackingprogressive
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had been backtrackingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of backtrack
Explanation
When you backtrack, you return somewhere you've already been, or retrace steps you've already taken. You might backtrack to find something you lost on your way down the sidewalk. When you walk out the door and realize you must have put your keys down somewhere, you'll probably backtrack through your house, looking for them. You can also backtrack in a figurative way, changing an opinion or a stance on something: "The city promised to build a new library, but now that the budget is so tight I bet they'll backtrack" The original use of the word referred to a technique in fox hunting.
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.
See Examples For:
On Thursday, a Downing Street spokesman appeared to backtrack, saying Burnham had made clear "the initial judgement is serious and there can't be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules".
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
There is a mini photo shoot with Floren’s truck in front of the vintage hotel sign, and then we jump in the cars and backtrack up the 33/166 toward Hudson Ranch Road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
“The President has this tendency to TACO,” he said, referring to Trump’s tendency to announce tough policies only to backtrack on those announcements later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
In September, mere hours after Charlie Kirk was killed, Patel prematurely announced a suspect had been apprehended — only to have to backtrack when authorities had taken the wrong man into custody.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026
Dense forest and rocky outcrops forced the robot to zig and zag and backtrack, but after an hour of steady hiking, she arrived at the craggy mountain peak.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
To do so, the complex moves down DNA chains in one direction, but backtracks in certain scenarios.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024
Playing over the game, the result makes perfect sense: White plays way better than Black, with simple, strong developing moves while Carlsen wastes time and backtracks to no obvious purpose.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
A sharp cooling of inflation hints at an easier road for Bullock, after Lowe's controversy-filled legacy of painful backtracks and abrupt shifts that cost him a second term.
From Reuters ● Sep. 1, 2023
But his new explanatory footnote backtracks, saying it “seems to show Corporal York marching his prisoners into the American lines, with what is likely the German officers.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
She backtracks to her first job at thirteen, cleaning the Francis the First silver service at the governor’s mansion.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
“A lot of us, our hope is that eventually, history will straighten this all out and say, no, Gloria came in a little later, and her very loyal supporters have backtracked that history.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Davis has since backtracked and pleaded not guilty.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The United Kingdom, for instance, considered doing away with checks entirely in 2009, but ultimately backtracked after pensioners protested to members of Parliament.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Less than 24 hours after cancelling the summer schemes for children with special needs, the Education Authority backtracked and confirmed they will now go ahead as planned.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
“Turn back, turn back, I don’t want to talk to Moaning Myrtle —” “Who?” said Harry as they backtracked quickly.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Earlier this year, it did indeed look like the administration would block mFlusiva; the FDA initially refused to review Moderna’s application, backtracking only after experts and the company pushed back.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
The CJP accused the government of backtracking after authorities had assured them that no punitive action would be taken against protesters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Happily, the backtracking and throat-clearing ends a little less than halfway through, and from then on it’s all baseball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Just hours before this latest backtracking, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting – who'd quite fancy being prime minister himself one day – said it was important the government "gets it right first time".
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
Faro started retracing my morning’s route, tail wagging, backtracking easily.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
