backtrack

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But the legal arguments in this letter were so weak that no one pursued them seriously, and the Department of Justice later had to backtrack the arguments in court.

From Slate • Apr. 29, 2026

Bozell appeared to later backtrack, saying the US government respected the independence and findings of South Africa's judiciary.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

“The President has this tendency to TACO,” he said, referring to Trump’s tendency to announce tough policies only to backtrack on those announcements later.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

In September, mere hours after Charlie Kirk was killed, Patel prematurely announced a suspect had been apprehended — only to have to backtrack when authorities had taken the wrong man into custody.

From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026

Normally this wouldn't be a problem at all, but with my extremely rough navigation, I could easily end up at the lip of one of them and have to backtrack.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir