Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

back off

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.68 in modern English

Syllables: back- off
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To move backwards away from something.

verb

To become less aggressive, particularly when one had appeared committed to act.

verb

To lower the setting of.

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see back, off.

Example Sentences

"I tried to back off slowly from the tiger in my path."
"You need to back off, or the situation could turn ugly."
"I was going to sue until my legal advisors told me to back off."
"Republicans on Capitol Hill, who were gearing up to use Graeme as evidence that Democrats have overexpanded the health program to include families wealthy enough to afford private insurance, have backed off."
"Could you back off the volume a bit? It’s really loud."
"The machine may go back off if it gets too hot. [= turn off again, turn back off]."

Inflected Forms

backs off (present, singular) backing off (participle, present) backed off (participle, past) backed off (past)

Derived Forms

backoff

Frequently Paired Words

back away back out back up stand back back down stand down

Synonyms

dial back turn down back up back down chicken out pull out bow out

Questions

What does back off mean?: To move backwards away from something.

How to pronounce back off

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “back off”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “back off” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.