Backpedal (Verb)
Meaning 1
Pedal backwards on a bicycle.
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- As she struggled to balance, Emily started to backpedal on her bicycle to regain control on the narrow mountain trail.
- Lifting his feet off the pedals, Jack began to backpedal, allowing the bicycle to glide backwards down the slight hill.
- The moment the rider realized he was on the wrong turn, he immediately backpedaled on the bicycle to regain some momentum before attempting to shift direction.
- The accident left John shaken so he carefully backpedaled his bicycle into the safety of an alley before reassessing the bike for damage.
- In a surprise move, Sarah got off and backpedaled her bicycle the last 20 feet up the hill instead of continuing to push through the exhaustion.
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Step backwards, in boxing.
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- She was forced to backpedal as her opponent landed a series of rapid-fire punches to her face.
- His corner told him to backpedal and create some distance between himself and his opponent to prevent taking more damage.
- The boxer's inability to backpedal quickly made her more susceptible to attacks from her opponent.
- Backpedaling was her defense against his flurry of punches, but it left her vulnerable to a potential knockout.
- After taking a hard left hook, he started to backpedal and stumbled against the ropes of the ring.
Meaning 3
Modify one's opinion, make it less strong.
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Examples
- The politician had to backpedal on her previous stance after facing opposition from her own party members.
- She initially expressed her fierce disapproval of the decision, but later had to backpedal when presented with the facts.
- He had to backpedal on his stance when the data showed that his theory was incorrect.
- In the face of public criticism, the company had to backpedal and revise their advertising strategy.
- After hearing the opposing views, he backpedaled on his original claim, saying he was misinformed.