Word.ws English Dictionary

back-track

back-track is the alternative form of backtrack.

Meaning of backtrack

Verb

backtrack (third-person singular simple present backtracks, present participle backtracking, simple past and past participle backtracked)

  1. To retrace one's steps.
    • I dropped my sunglasses and had to backtrack to find them.
  2. To repeat or review work already done.
    • If we backtrack through this problem, maybe we can figure out where we went wrong.
  3. To taxi down an active runway in the opposite direction to that being used for takeoff.
    • Speedbird One: enter and backtrack Runway 27 Left.
  4. To exercise a racehorse around the racetrack in the opposite direction to that in which races are run.
  5. To go back on or withdraw a statement.
    • After enormous public outrage, the government backtracked on its proposed ban.
    Synonyms:
    backpedal

See all 6 meanings of backtrack

Forms of back-track

third-person singular presentback-tracks
present participleback-tracking
past participleback-tracked
pastback-tracked

Questions about back-track

What is back-track the alternative form of?
Back-track is the alternative form of backtrack.

Words near back-track in the dictionary

  1. back-to-school night
  2. back-to-school nights
  3. back-to-the-soil
  4. back-to-work order
  5. back-to-work orders
  6. back-track
  7. back-tracked
  8. back-tracking
  9. back-tracks
  10. back-translate
  11. back-translated

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: back-track (page history and authors); backtrack (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “back-track.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/back-track. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.