MEANING
To stop defending a position or demand after opposition, pressure, or a challenge.
Use it for
withdrawing a demand under pressure; stopping an argument after opposition; retreating from a firm position; admitting that a challenge has defeated youSpecifies a retreat from a maintained stance, usually after opposition or pressure. Writing functions: Withdrawing under pressure. Semantic categories (by meaning): Conflict; Concession. Contexts: General conversation; Creative prose.
On the page
The landlord backed down after the tenants challenged the fee.
Neither side would back down, so the discussion continued into the evening.
Word forms
- Base
- back down
- Past tense
- backed down
- Past participle
- backed down
- Present participle
- backing down
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- back down
- Present continuous
- am/is/are backing down
- Present perfect
- have/has backed down
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been backing down
- Past
- backed down
- Past continuous
- was/were backing down
- Past perfect
- had backed down
- Past perfect continuous
- had been backing down
- Future
- will back down
- Future continuous
- will be backing down
- Future perfect
- will have backed down
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been backing down
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Intransitive phrasal verb: back down; back down from a demand or position; back down on an issue. Forms: backs down; backed down; backed down; backing down. Register: neutral. Commonness: common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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