climbdown

[klahym-doun]

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a retreat from a policy, opinion, position in a debate, etc..

   The government’s recent climbdown from its wage freeze policy is just another instance of the flip-flopping that infuriates voters.

Word History and Origins

Origin of climbdown¹

First recorded in 1905–10; climb ( def. ) + down ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Australia's climbdown will be embarrassing for the government of Mr Albanese, after lobbying long and hard to win support among the other nations in the Western Europe group.

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China’s actions show that the U.S. is vulnerable to economic pressure, and China has forced the administration to choose between further escalation or a humiliating climbdown.

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The SNL sketch, which aired in April, was criticised by one viewer as taking "a screeching turn into 1970s misogyny" - a comment Wood reposted on social media - and prompted a climbdown by show bosses, who Wood said apologised.

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Panic, confusion and then a hasty White House climbdown - it was a weekend of whiplash for hundreds of thousands of Indians on H-1B visas.

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Despite the government's climbdown last week, 47 Labour MPs still voted against the legislation and backed a rebel amendment tabled by York MP Rachael Maskell.

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