How to Use backpedal in a Sentence

backpedal

verb
  • The outfielder backpedaled a few steps to catch the fly ball.
  • Well, let’s backpedal a little.
    — New Atlas, 30 May 2026
  • To be sure, some firms have backpedaled on plans to expand in the city.
    — Alexandre Rajbhandari, Fortune Europe, 14 May 2024
  • Hill backpedaled to the left side of the field and caught a pass from Turpin.
    — Joe Buettner, ajc, 7 Oct. 2017
  • And do not crack a smile as your sister-in-law wearily tries to backpedal.
    — Judith Martin, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2019
  • Many of the worst culprits on this issue are backpedaling fast.
    — Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
  • Any backpedaling option was blocked.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Brady, for example does at times backpedal just a tad during his drop-back.
    — Conor Orr, SI.com, 16 Jan. 2018
  • Halsey, meanwhile, is in the midst of backpedaling on her own statements.
    — Chelsea Stone, Teen Vogue, 23 June 2017
  • Later the White House seemed to backpedal a bit and talk up the dollar.
    — Fortune, 10 Aug. 2019
  • Springer backpedaled to draw a bead on Ryan Braun's two-out fly ball in the fifth inning.
    — Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, 4 Sep. 2019
  • In some cases, it could only be done if a child backpedaled while riding uphill.
    — Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Freeze has kept an edge, but he's backpedaled to a more defensive stance since his infamous tweet.
    — Pete Thamel, SI.com, 29 June 2016
  • Johnson held her follow through and backpedaled as the ball traveled its parabola path to the rim.
    — Ben Baskin, SI.com, 31 Mar. 2018
  • The two are similar in size and the ability to cover one-on-one, backpedal and turn on a dime.
    — cleveland.com, 2 May 2018
  • Allen backpedaled to the corner and got a perfect pass from Bosh just before the 3-point line.
    — The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Malzahn backpedaled those comments when asked about them Wednesday, saying they were meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
    — Tom Green, AL.com, 10 Jan. 2018
  • But Woolen jawed at the Rams bench while backpedaling with his hands behind his back after the play.
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 31 Jan. 2026
  • James backpedaled and looked toward his team’s bench with his tongue hanging out, Williamson trailing close behind.
    — Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2020
  • In follow-up interviews, Grede has declined to backpedal.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Moments later, Freese lofts a triple just beyond the reach of the backpedaling Cruz.
    — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2016
  • Peterson and Williams begin in press position, backpedal a few yards, then turn and sprint.
    — Andy Benoit, SI.com, 19 July 2017
  • Nutt backpedaled to create more distance between Crabtree and him, the letter states.
    — Tracy Neal, arkansasonline.com, 9 Sep. 2024
  • White charged at Jackson, who attempted to give him a Heisman-like stiff-arm and backpedaled.
    — Andrew Lopez, NOLA.com, 13 Oct. 2017
  • But of course, Williamson has backpedaled the decision already via Twitter.
    — Elly Belle, refinery29.com, 3 Jan. 2020
  • Deputies and officers backpedal out of the condo and two officers and a deputy stumble and fall over each other.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2022
  • Trump briefly strayed from gun-rights dogma after the Parkland shooting, but quickly backpedaled.
    — NBC News, 1 June 2018
  • Garoppolo ended up in the open field ahead of Samuel and pushed Barr, who backpedaled and landed on the ground.
    — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, 11 Jan. 2020
  • That became a concern on X, to the point where Musk was forced to backpedal on his free speech absolutist ideals.
    — Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
  • Mahomes backpedaled some 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage and rolled to his right before throwing back deep to his left.
    — Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'backpedal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: