See back down in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for back down meaning in English (5.7kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "backs down",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "backing down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "backed down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "backed down",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "back down (third-person singular simple present backs down, present participle backing down, simple past and past participle backed down)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "give in"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "retract"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "retreat"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "yield"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "backdown"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "back into"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "back off"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "back out"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "back up"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "60 40",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "70 30",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (down)",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "I was about to sue them, but I had to back down.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "I was going to sue them, but now I'm going to have to back down.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-06-21",
"text": "By the time politicians in several cities backed down on Tuesday and announced that they would cut or consider reducing fares, the demonstrations had already morphed into a more sweeping social protest, with marchers waving banners carrying slogans like “The people have awakened.”",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously has or has planned to."
],
"id": "en-back_down-en-verb-6u4hmNYj",
"links": [
[
"aggressive",
"aggressive"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously has or has planned to."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "fer-se enrere"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "fer marxa enrere"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "perääntyä"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "baisser d’un ton"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "nachgeben"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "eine Rückzieher machen"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "de",
"english": "fig.",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"colloquial"
],
"word": "zurückrudern"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "cedere"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "dać za wygraną"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "dawać za wygraną"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "wycofać"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "recuar"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "voltar atrás"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "ceda"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "pojtí na ustúpki",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "пойти́ на усту́пки"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "pojtí na popjátnyj",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "пойти́ на попя́тный"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "datʹ zádnij xod",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "дать за́дний ход"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "spasovatʹ",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "спасовать"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "recular"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "echarse atrás"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "ge med"
},
{
"_dis1": "86 14",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "ge vika"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"To withdraw from a commitment or position."
],
"id": "en-back_down-en-verb-UjxE8Neb",
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To withdraw from a commitment or position."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-back down.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/44/En-au-back_down.ogg/En-au-back_down.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/En-au-back_down.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "back down"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English phrasal verbs",
"English phrasal verbs with particle (down)",
"English terms with audio links",
"English verbs"
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "backs down",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "backing down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "backed down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "backed down",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "back down (third-person singular simple present backs down, present participle backing down, simple past and past participle backed down)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "give in"
},
{
"word": "retract"
},
{
"word": "retreat"
},
{
"word": "yield"
},
{
"word": "backdown"
},
{
"word": "back into"
},
{
"word": "back off"
},
{
"word": "back out"
},
{
"word": "back up"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "I was about to sue them, but I had to back down.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "I was going to sue them, but now I'm going to have to back down.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-06-21",
"text": "By the time politicians in several cities backed down on Tuesday and announced that they would cut or consider reducing fares, the demonstrations had already morphed into a more sweeping social protest, with marchers waving banners carrying slogans like “The people have awakened.”",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously has or has planned to."
],
"links": [
[
"aggressive",
"aggressive"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously has or has planned to."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms"
],
"glosses": [
"To withdraw from a commitment or position."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To withdraw from a commitment or position."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-back down.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/44/En-au-back_down.ogg/En-au-back_down.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/En-au-back_down.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "fer-se enrere"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "fer marxa enrere"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "perääntyä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "baisser d’un ton"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "nachgeben"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "eine Rückzieher machen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "fig.",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"colloquial"
],
"word": "zurückrudern"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "cedere"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "dać za wygraną"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "dawać za wygraną"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "wycofać"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "recuar"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "voltar atrás"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "ceda"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "pojtí na ustúpki",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "пойти́ на усту́пки"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "pojtí na popjátnyj",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "пойти́ на попя́тный"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "datʹ zádnij xod",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "дать за́дний ход"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "spasovatʹ",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "спасовать"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "recular"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "echarse atrás"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "ge med"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to take less aggressive position",
"word": "ge vika"
}
],
"word": "back down"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.