Browse all

climb down

B1 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words

To come down from somewhere high; or to admit you were wrong and change what you said.

Literal meaning: To descend by climbing — moving from high to low.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To descend from a high place by climbing.

"He carefully climbed down from the roof, gripping the ladder tightly."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

To withdraw from a position, demand, or claim, especially publicly and under pressure.

"After fierce opposition from MPs, the Prime Minister was forced to climb down on the proposed tax."

"The government has been forced to climb down over its plans to cut tax credits."

— BBC News, reporting on UK tax credit policy, circa 2015
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

The figurative sense is very common in politics and journalism. A 'climbdown' (noun) is a public reversal of a policy or position. The literal sense is transparent. The figurative sense always implies some loss of face or pressure from others.

Commonly used with

ladder tree wall position demand stance policy

Forms

Base
climb down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
climbs down
he/she/it
Past simple
climbed down
yesterday
Past participle
climbed down
have + pp
-ing form
climbing down
continuous

Understand "climb down" better

Try:

Real video examples

Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.

Want to master this phrasal verb?

Practice "climb down" on Looplines