back out

phraseB2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To back out is to withdraw from an agreement you had already made. You had said yes and now you are saying no.

The lateness is what makes it a criticism, since backing out of a deal at the last minute is a breach of trust rather than a change of mind. It takes of. There is a plain driving sense of reversing out of a space. It is worth keeping apart from back down, which is about an argument, and back off, which is about pressure.

Definitions of back out

1phraseback outTo withdraw from an agreement or commitment.B2
“They may back out of the sale altogether.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 15 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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back out

phraseB2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To back out is to withdraw from an agreement you had already made. You had said yes and now you are saying no.

Definitions of back out

1phraseback outTo withdraw from an agreement or commitment.B2
“They may back out of the sale altogether.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 15 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word