Bill said he could beat Ted, but when Ted put up his fists Bill backed down.
Harry claimed Joe had taken his book, but backed down when the teacher talked with him.
Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". Оригинал: A.Маккей, М.Т.Боткер, Дж.И.Гейтс. 1997.
back off — (v.) retreat, stop annoying someone, by 1938, from BACK (Cf. back) (v.) + OFF (Cf. off) … Etymology dictionary
back off — ► back off draw back from confrontation. Main Entry: ↑back … English terms dictionary
back off — index abandon (withdraw) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
back off — 1) PHRASAL VERB If you back off, you move away in order to avoid problems or a fight. [V P] They backed off in horror. 2) PHRASAL VERB If you back off from a claim, demand, or commitment that you made earlier, or if you back off it, you withdraw… … English dictionary
back off — phrasal verb [intransitive] Word forms back off : present tense I/you/we/they back off he/she/it backs off present participle backing off past tense backed off past participle backed off 1) to move backwards in order to get further away from… … English dictionary
back off — v. (D; intr.) to back off from (to back off from one s demands) * * * [ bæk ɒf] (D; intr.) to back off from (to back off from one s demands) … Combinatory dictionary
back off — to not do something you intended to do. They had been unwise when they backed off from making changes to the law. Another boss might have told the editor to back off and not pursue the story. Etymology: based on the literal meaning of back off ( … New idioms dictionary
back off — verb a) To move backwards away from something. I tried to back off slowly from the tiger in my path. b) To become less aggressive, particularly when one had appeared committed to act. You need to back off, or the situation could turn ugly … Wiktionary
back off — do not come closer, do not touch me Back off, you animal! Don t touch me! … English idioms
back off (to) — Slow down; moderate. ► “During the U.S. budget negotiations, religious leaders intervened with press conferences and studies to pressure Congress to back off welfare reform.” (Forbes, Feb. 26, 1996, p. 52) … American business jargon
