To back down is to stop insisting and admit you will not win the argument. The retreat is public, which is what makes it hard.
It takes from or over. The phrase belongs to disputes, negotiations and standoffs, and refusing to back down is what everybody claims and somebody eventually does. It differs from backing out, which means withdrawing from an agreement, and from backing off, which means simply giving somebody space. Climbing down is the British equivalent and a climbdown is the noun for it.
1phraseback downTo abandon a position in an argument or confrontation.
“Neither side was willing to back down.”
Also accepted in games: give in
Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 13 of A Man Called Ove.
Practise this word