Back Down

Definition: Back Down

Back Down

Verb

1. Move backwards from a certain position; "The bully had to back down".

2. Remove oneself from an obligation; "He bowed out when he heard how much work was involved".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Synonyms: Back Down

Regression

Verb: recede, regrade, return, revert, retreat, retire; retrograde, retrocede; back out; back down; balk; crawfish, crawl; withdraw; rebound; go back, come back, turn back, hark back, draw back, fall back, get back, put back, run back; lose ground; fall astern, drop astern; backwater, put about; backtrack, take the back track; veer round; double, wheel, countermarch; ebb, regurgitate; jib, shrink, shy.

Crosswords: Back Down

Surely, you must realize that my powers are far beyond yours now, back down. (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones; writing credit: George Lucas)

It just popped-up to say hello and went back down below (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; writing credit: Mike Myers)

if you boys just turned on around and headed back down that way and let us up there where the real fighting is. (Glory; writing credit: Robert Gould Shaw; Lincoln Kirstein)

Well, I guess I'll just have to pick myself up, dust myself off, and throw myself right back down again (Seinfeld; writing credit: Andreas Lenze; Bea Schmidt)

I'm warning you Willis, if Corina Devonshire escapes, I will personally stick my arm up you ass, rip out your heart, and stuff it back down your throat (Barb Wire; writing credit: Chris Warner; Ilene Chaiken)

The Bay area and back down (California Love; performing artist: 2 PAC)

She needed to come back down to Earth (Sk8er Boi; performing artist: Avril Lavigne)

I can show you how to fly and never ever come back down (Lay Your Hands On Me; performing artist: Bon Jovi)

I wouldn't know how to be this way now and never back down (Fighter; performing artist: CHRISTINA AGUILERA)

Well, take me back down where cool water flows, yeah (GREEN RIVER; performing artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival)

It is bad to suppress laughter; it goes back down and spreads to your hips. (references; author: unknown)

You Don't Back Down (1965)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Back Down to Earth: The Development of Space Policy for Nasa During the Jimmy Carter Administration (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Can't Back Down (reference)

• Never Gonna Come Back Down [US CD] [CD-SINGLE] (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Health

The larvae migrate from the lungs up the windpipe to be swallowed and carried back down to the intestine. (references)

Civil Liberties

Germany

In May the Federal Administrative Court referred the case back down to the Higher Administrative Court in Berlin to address the open questions. (references)

Political Rights

Mexico

After a 4-month standoff, Cervera was forced to back down from his demands to reappoint the Council and in a May 27 election, PAN candidate Patricio Patron defeated PRI candidate Orlando Paredes Lara to win the governorship of Yucatan by a 5 percent margin. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "back down": back down from ♦ To back down. Additional references.

Albanian

zbres mbrapsht, shfryhem (blow up). (various references)

Arabic 

‏تنازل (abdicate, cede, concede, concession, condescend, deign, demission, disclaimer, give ground, give in, give up, part with, pass up, recede, recession, relinquish, renounce, renunciation, resignation, stand down, step down, surrender, transfer, waive, waiver, yield), ‏تراجع (back away, back up, backwards, blemish, degradation, draw back, drawback, fall back, fall behind, give back, give ground, give the right of way, kick, lose ground, move back, palinode, recede, recess, recession, recoil, regress, regression, renege, retire, retract, retraction, retreat, retreating, retrogression, sell out, stand, take back, turn back, unsay, withdraw). (various references)

Bulgarian 

слизам заднешком, оттеглям (countermand, detach, haul off, pull away, retire, retract, retreat, withdraw). (various references)

Czech

podvolit se (acquiesce), odstoupit (abdicate, cede, resign, stand back, step aside). (various references)

Dutch

bakzeil halen (climb down). (various references)

Esperanto

senpretendiĝi (climb down), malfieriĝi (climb down). (various references)

French

se dérober (balk), descendre � reculons. (various references)

German

nachgeben (budge, cave in, cede, climb down, drop, ease, fall, give in, give up, give way, indulge, pander, relent, relinquish, submit, to give in, to give way, weaken, yield). (various references)

Greek 

υποχωρώ (abate, back out of, blench, bow, cave in, climb down, defer to, ebb, fall back, flinch, give in, give way to, recede, relent, retreat, subduce, subside, yield). (various references)

Hebrew 

לחזור בו (back out of, back up, recant, reconsider, regret, repent, take back, unsay). (various references)

Hungarian

visszavon (conceal, revoke, take back, to annul, to cry off, to recall, to recant, to repeal, to rescind, to retract, to revoke, to set back, to take back, unsay, withdraw), lemond (abandon, abdicate, demit, denounce, disclaim, forgo, give up, renounce, resign, to abdicate, to call off, to disclaim, to discontinue, to eschew, to renounce, to resign, to surrender, to throw up, to waive). (various references)

Pig Latin

ackbay ownday.(various references)

Portuguese

retirar-se (clear off, disappear, off, retire, retreat, secede), desistir (back off, depart, desist, forsake, give up, leave, off, quit), abandonar (abandon, cast off, cede, desert, doff, flee, forsake, forwent, give up, jettison, lay aside, lay down, leave, neglect, off, quit, reject, relinquish, renounce, secede, set aside, throw over, to abandon, vacant, vacate, waive). (various references)

Romanian

renunţa la (abandon, abdicate, abnegate, cast aside, chuck up, declare off, deny, disclaim, doff, drop, forgo, forsake, give over, lay down, part with, remise, renounce, resign, sacrifice, shunt, sink, spare, surrender, throw up, yield up). (various references)

Russian 

отступаться (apostatize, back away), отступать (back away, backtrack, blench, change one's base, digress, draw back, fall back, fell back, flinch, give ground, give grounds, lose ground, move back, recede, retire, retrograde, retrogress, stand back, step back). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

povući se od nečega, odreći se (abdicate, abjure, abnegate, deny, disclaim, forgo, forwent, relinquish, remise, renounce, sign away, surrender, waive, withdraw). (various references)

Spanish

volverse atrás (back out, backpedal, backtrack, climb down, look back), rajarse (bottle out, chap, climb down, rift, rush off, splash out), marchar atrás, ir atrás (back away), echarse atrás (flinch, shrink away, shrink back). (various references)

Swedish

ge med sig (abate, come around, yield to treatment). (various references)

Turkish

vazgeçmek (abandon, back down from, back out, back out of, back track, backtrack, be off, beat a retreat, cease, cede, change one's mind, cry off, cut loose, declare off, desist, disclaim, dispense with, do without, drop the reins, forbear, forego, forgo, forsake, give over, give up, go without, jack in, kick, leave, leave off, opt out, quit, recant, recede, relinquish, remit, renounce, resign, retract, sink, Stow, surrender, swerve, throw over, throw up, turn about, turn around, turn up, unlearn, waive, wangle, wangle out of), sözünden dönmek (back down from, back out, back out of, back pedal, backtrack, break one's word, renege), caymak (back down from, back out, back out of, call back, change one's mind, cry off, deflect, depart, go back on, go without, leave, recant, retract, swallow, swerve, wangle, wangle out of). (various references)

Ukrainian

відступати (back, backtrack, blench, crawfish, deviate, digress, draw back, draw off, drop back, ebb, fall back, flinch, give ground, go back, recede, retreat, retrograde, shy, stand away, stand back, walk backward), відмовлятися (abdicate, abjure, abnegate, backtrack, cast off, discard, forgo, forsake, forswear, jettison, lay aside, lay down, nill, part with, pass up, pretext, recede, refuse, relinquish, renounce, repeal, retract, throw aside, throw out, throw over, waive, withdraw). (various references)

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-3 letters: adown, bacon, banco, wacko.

-4 letters: back, band, bank, bawd, bock, bond, bonk, coda, conk, dank, dawk, dawn, dock, dona, down, kaon, knob, know, koan, nock, wack, wand, woad, wonk.

-5 letters: abo, ado, and, awn, bad, ban, boa, bod, bow, cab, cad, can, caw, cob, cod, con, cow, dab, dak, daw, doc, don, dow.

+4 letters: backwoodsman, backwoodsmen.