Word.ws English Dictionary

backed down

backed down is the simple past and past participle of back down.

Meaning of back down

Verb

back down (third-person singular simple present backs down, present participle backing down, simple past and past participle backed down)

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have.
    • I was about to sue them, but I had to back down.
  2. (idiomatic, transitive) To make (someone) take a less aggressive position.
    • I have backed down so many men by confronting them. I'm willing to fight back. If you have that rage in your heart and you are willing to kill, that radiates.1980 February 9, Chris Guilfoy, anonymous quotee, “Town Meeting Talks About The Issue of Violence”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 28, page 1
  3. (idiomatic) To withdraw from a commitment or position; back out.

Questions about backed down

What is backed down the simple past and past participle of?
Backed down is the simple past and past participle of back down.

Words near backed down in the dictionary

  1. Backe
  2. backed
  3. backed away
  4. backed blade
  5. backed blades
  6. backed down
  7. backed in
  8. backed into
  9. backed off
  10. backed on to
  11. backed one out

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: backed down (page history and authors); back down (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: “backed down.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backed_down. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.