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to back away from' something or someone means to retreat or move backwards from something, usually slowly, because you are frightened of them.
- When I saw the snake, I slowly backed away from it and called for help.
- He tried to back away from the man with the knife but was trapped.
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to back away from' an idea or suggestion means to disassociate yourself from it and not support it.
- He was going to say yes to the proposal but then backed away from it and didn't.
- He backed away from plans for a vote of no confidence.
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to back down' means to admit that you were wrong or that you have been defeated.
- When he was confronted with the facts, he quickly backed down.
- He wouldn't back down. He maintained his position in spite of all the evidence.
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to back off' means avoiding a difficult situation by not becoming involved in it.
- Let me deal with this. Just back off .
- At first she was very aggressive but then she backed off.
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to back onto' describes how the back of a house or building faces in a specific direction.
- The house backs onto the river. We have a lovely view.
- The building backs onto the car park in the city centre.
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to back out' means to withdraw from an agreement that has been made.
- He is no longer going to pay the amount we agreed. He has backed out of our agreement.
- We were going to go on holiday together but then he backed out at the last minute.
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to back out' your car means to reverse it from a place or position.
- I broke the mirror backing out of the parking lot.
- It is illegal to back out of your garden on to the road.
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to back up' means to give an idea support or to prove it.
- He had figures from some very reliable sources to back up his arguments.
- He didn't have any receipts to back up his insurance claim after the burglary.
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to back up' also means to make a copy of something in case the original is damaged, especially on the computer.
- Before you start installing new software, back up your files.
- I have to back up my work regularly so that I don't lose it if the computer goes down.
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to back someone up' means to support or to help them.
- That's exactly what happened. The others will back me up.
- Nobody backed me up. I was left alone to defend myself against the criticism.
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