climbing down

Verb

climb down (third-person singular simple present climbs down, present participle climbing down, simple past and past participle climbed down)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see climb, down.
   • It took 2 hours to climb up, but 4 to climb down as our energy grew less and less.

   Synonyms:

   backpedal

2. (idiomatic, sometimes) To abandon, withdraw from, or soften a previously expressed opinion, argument, etc.
   • But Ekeus said Iraq had climbed down in its confrontation with the UN.1992 July 27, Paul Lewis, “Inspectors begin search in Baghdad”, in The Day, Connecticut, USA, retrieved 30 Jun 2011, page A5

See all 3 meanings of climb down