beat back
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before the uprising can commence, the General has to unify the Polish nobility and peasantry to accumulate the muscle needed to beat back Mother Russia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
Norwegian family drama, Sentimental Value, beat back stiff competition in the best film not in the English language category, including Brazilian thriller The Secret Agent.
From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026
If you opt for private sessions, there’s a misconception that it will involve revealing your innermost secrets, perhaps while lying on a couch, as a therapist prods you to beat back your demons.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 7, 2026
In other words, it’s riveting prose about how humans beat back despair.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
Mother would beat back illness with a broom.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
