Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- intransitive v. To go back over the course by which one has come.
- intransitive v. To return to a previous point or subject, as in a lecture or discussion.
- intransitive v. To reverse one's position or policy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. the act of backtracking
- v. to retrace one's steps
- v. to repeat or review work already done
- v. To taxi down an active runway in the opposite direction to that being used for takeoff
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- v. retrace one's course
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Examples
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It may also lead to a situation in which it is not always possible to backtrack from a citation to a source, because somewhere along the way somebody decided a certain, necessary piece of information was unnecessary.
The Volokh Conspiracy » The Case for Abolishing the Bluebook
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And some may even be trying to backtrack from the political fallout that the desafuero has caused.
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At the same time, thousands of conservative politicians will face a dreadful choice: backtrack from the anti-abortion ground they have staked out and risk infuriating their pro-life base; or deliver on their promise to eliminate the right to abortion, and risk the wrath of a moderate, pro-choice majority.
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It is being thoroughly abused to track -- pardon, 'backtrack' -- the phone records of everyday mainstream reporters.
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It is being thoroughly abused to track -- pardon, "backtrack" -- the phone records of everyday mainstream reporters.
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Underscoring why he won't debate on Hardwick's show, Davis is trying to backtrack, which is hard when you clearly harbor animus towards the subject matter:
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Suriname backtrack boats too 'technical' to be dealt with now - Greene Despite two recent mishaps on the Corentyne ...
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And how did Barack Obama "backtrack" by supporting a constitutional right to building the mosque, but not commenting on its wisdom?
Ali A. Rizvi: Ground Zero Mosque Protesters Borrow a Page From the Muslim Playbook
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Now I am finding that I have so much to share with my daughters and try to "backtrack" so much of what I taught them through example by believing what the church has been teaching, at least the ones we have attended.
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There's an intriguing story in today's Times suggesting that the Tories may "backtrack" on some defence spending commitments, and are thinking about shelving the Trident replacement.
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