backpedal

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈbækˌpɛdəl/ UK /ˈbækˌpɛdl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to reverse one's previous opinion or position

He began to backpedal the moment reporters pressed him.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to reverse one's previous... retract recant retreat withdraw reversebacktrack

Opposites

persist maintain

Word family

Derived forms backpedalingbackpedaller

Related forms back pedal

Etymology

From back + pedal, originally of cyclists pedaling backward to brake, later figurative for reversing a stance; pedal from Latin pes, ped- ('foot').

pes Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# backpedal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbækˌpɛdəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbækˌpɛdl/

## Meanings
1. to reverse one's previous opinion or position

## Examples
- He began to backpedal the moment reporters pressed him.

## Synonyms
- retract
- recant
- retreat
- withdraw
- reverse
- backtrack

## Antonyms
- persist
- maintain

## Derived Forms
- backpedaling
- backpedaller

## Related Forms
- back
- pedal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pes

## Etymology
From back + pedal, originally of cyclists pedaling backward to brake, later figurative for reversing a stance; pedal from Latin pes, ped- ('foot').

## AI Etymology
backpedal comes from back + pedal, originally of cyclists pedaling backward to brake, later figurative for reversing a stance; pedal from Latin pes, ped- ('foot'). Morphologically, the word is transparent as a compound: its parts remain visible in the modern spelling, while the older history of those parts supplies the deeper ancestry. In modern use, the verb sense is "to reverse one's previous opinion or position", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as back, pedal and derivatives such as backpedaling, backpedaller, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin pes, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown