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:
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
But the legal arguments in this letter were so weak that no one pursued them seriously, and the Department of Justice later had to backtrack the arguments in court.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026
The new ambassador appeared to later backtrack, saying the US government respected the independence and findings of South Africa's judiciary.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 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
The site they picked was simply the highest ground they came to and it gave views north along the road and overlooked their backtrack.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
Things have changed in the half-century since “Forever…” was published, even subtracting the years the series backtracks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
To do so, the complex moves down DNA chains in one direction, but backtracks in certain scenarios.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024
The resulting protests — the largest since a cost of living crisis last July — have sparked a series of backtracks from President Laurentino Cortizo.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
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
As he sees the look of horror that this suggestion prompts, he quickly backtracks.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
In April, Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa floated the idea of charging vessels to cross the strait, but later backtracked.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Millions of exhaust-belching motorbikes zip through Hanoi's narrow streets every day fuelling its chronic air pollution, but authorities have backtracked from an ambitious plan to ban them in favour of electric two-wheelers.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
The president backtracked on his threat to strike Iran’s power plants after a series of closed-door discussions led by Middle Eastern intermediaries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
The UK government has backtracked on its position on copyright and AI, stating it must take time to "get this right".
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Her dad raised both hands in surrender and backtracked.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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
"For them, backtracking would mean losing their pioneering advantage."
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 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
Itauma - the prodigy who was sparring seasoned professionals while still at school - was in wonderful form from the first bell, using his speed and variation to send Franklin backtracking.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 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.
