backs (up or away)

verb

present tense third-person singular of back (up or away)
as in withdraws

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for backs (up or away)
  1. withdraws
  2. retreats
  3. runs away
  4. recedes
  5. retires
  6. takes off
Verb
  • Popular airline withdraws from three locations, leaving travelers with fewer routes.
    — , FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Investopedia made a state-by-state set of estimates for a single retiree who collects the average Social Security benefit of $1,975 a month and withdraws 4% of savings a year.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of withdraws
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Mercury stations retrograde in Scorpio and Venus retreats into Libra, joining Saturn retrograde in Aries, Uranus in Gemini, and Neptune in Aries.
    — Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But even as the characters reflect at length on the virtue of putting themselves out there, their series too often retreats within itself instead.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreats
Verb
  • Musically gifted teenager Rokas, runs away from his mafia family to use music as a way to take revenge on his father, responsible for his mother’s death.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026
  • When Carla and Johnny get there, Gabe literally runs away from them, but Johnny tackles him.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of runs away
Verb
  • But like the Slip, when the tide recedes and the bar is cleaned and dried, business continues as usual.
    — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Back above Lake Champlain, the CX300 levels off, and the motor recedes to a faint hum.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of recedes
Verb
  • Once every child has performed, the jury retires to a quiet office to deliberate.
    — Julie Bourdin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The new OpenBSD also retires support for Loongson architecture after the port stopped working with the Clang 22 compiler.
    — Nick Indge, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of retires
Verb
  • The maturation step is where the partnership with Sohm, which began in 2024, really takes off.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Brian takes off for Castle Leathers with Murtagh at his side, and Ellen returns to Castle Leoch to face her brothers.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of takes off
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

backs (up)
backs (up or away)
back talk
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Backs (up or away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/backs%20%28up%20or%20away%29. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All