back away
verb
backed away; backing away; backs away
: to move away (as from a stand on an issue or from a commitment)
Synonyms
Examples of back away in a Sentence
backed away from the snake very slowly and carefully
Recent Examples on the Web
Thiel and some other tech leaders backed away from Trump after the tumult of his presidency and in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that attempted to halt the certification of the 2020 election results.
—
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2024
By cowardly backing away from Hamas because of a few votes.
—Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 9 May 2024
The White House has been considering its options for executive actions since Republicans in Congress backed away from a Senate compromise earlier this year on legislation that would have empowered the administration to turn away migrants seeking asylum when certain thresholds were reached.
—Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 8 May 2024
The deputies backed away toward the street while directing him to drop the knife and surrender.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
But, given the uncertainty around the issue, social-media companies have lately backed away from policing lies on their platforms.
—Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
By the afternoon, Johnson backed away from the idea.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 19 Apr. 2024
When interest rates first soared in 2022, buyers backed away en masse, inventory swelled and home prices dropped.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Keep a safe distance of 6 feet or more and slowly back away.
—The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2024
By cowardly backing away from Hamas because of a few votes.
—Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 9 May 2024
The White House has been considering its options for executive actions since Republicans in Congress backed away from a Senate compromise earlier this year on legislation that would have empowered the administration to turn away migrants seeking asylum when certain thresholds were reached.
—Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 8 May 2024
The deputies backed away toward the street while directing him to drop the knife and surrender.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
But, given the uncertainty around the issue, social-media companies have lately backed away from policing lies on their platforms.
—Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
By the afternoon, Johnson backed away from the idea.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 19 Apr. 2024
When interest rates first soared in 2022, buyers backed away en masse, inventory swelled and home prices dropped.
—Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Keep a safe distance of 6 feet or more and slowly back away.
—The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'back away.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near back away
Cite this Entry
“Back away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back%20away. Accessed 15 May. 2024.
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