Word.ws English Dictionary

backs off

backs off is the third-person singular simple present indicative of back off.

Meaning of back off

Verb

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

  1. (literally) To move backwards away from something.
    • I tried to back off slowly from the tiger in my path.
  2. (idiomatic) To become less aggressive, particularly when one had appeared committed to act.
    • You need to back off, or the situation could turn ugly.
  3. (idiomatic) To lower the setting of.
    • Could you back off the volume a bit? It’s really loud.
    Synonyms:
    dial back, turn down
  4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see back, off.
    • The machine may go back off if it gets too hot. [= turn off again, turn back off].

Questions about backs off

What is backs off the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Backs off is the third-person singular simple present indicative of back off.

Words near backs off in the dictionary

  1. backs against the wall
  2. backs away
  3. backs down
  4. backs in
  5. backs into
  6. backs off
  7. backs on to
  8. backs one out
  9. backs oneself into a corner
  10. backs onto
  11. backs out

Source and license

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