Also spelled back-down
noun
Freq #470691
Meanings
-
1
noun
an act of withdrawing a demand, threat, claim, or previously stated position
The compromise was widely seen as a backdown by both sides.
Thesaurus
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climbdown
Opposites
Word family
Related forms
back downclimbdown
Etymology
A noun formed from the phrasal verb back down, 'to withdraw from a position or confrontation.' The closed and hyphenated noun spellings have both been used, while the verb remains two words.