- back down
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To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously has or has planned to.
I was about to sue them, but I had to back down.
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back down
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back\ down — • back down • back off v informal To give up a claim; not follow up a threat. Bill said he could beat Ted, but when Ted put up his fists Bill backed down. Harry claimed Joe had taken his book, but backed down when the teacher talked with him. Syn … Словарь американских идиом
back down — (v.) in figurative sense of withdraw a charge, 1859, American English, from notion of descending a ladder, etc.; from BACK (Cf. back) (v.) + DOWN (Cf. down) (adv.) … Etymology dictionary
back down — [v] withdraw from agreement or statement abandon, accede, admit, back off, back out, back pedal*, backtrack, balk, beg off*, cancel, chicken out*, concede, cop out*, demur, give in, give up, go back on, hold back, recant, recoil, renege, resign,… … New thesaurus
back|down — «BAK DOWN», noun. Informal. a backing down; retreat from a claim, position, or point of view after a challenge: »... backdowns, concessions and shifts (Time) … Useful english dictionary
back down — ► back down concede defeat. Main Entry: ↑back … English terms dictionary
back down — index abandon (withdraw), accede (concede), disavow, surrender (yield), yield (submit) … Law dictionary
back down — verb 1. move backwards from a certain position (Freq. 2) The bully had to back down • Syn: ↑back up, ↑back off • Derivationally related forms: ↑backdown • Hypernyms: ↑ … Useful english dictionary
back down — phrasal verb [intransitive] Word forms back down : present tense I/you/we/they back down he/she/it backs down present participle backing down past tense backed down past participle backed down to stop asking for something, or to stop saying that… … English dictionary
back down — PHRASAL VERB If you back down, you withdraw a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, because other people are strongly opposed to it. [V P] The United States had no intention of backing down in its bitter row with the European… … English dictionary
back down — v. (D; intr.) to back down from (they had to back down from their demands) … Combinatory dictionary
back down — to decide not to do something because others say you should not do it. Most of the speakers opposed the budget cuts, but the mayor said she would not back down. We demanded an end to the weapons tests, and we thought they had agreed to back down … New idioms dictionary
