walk back
To go back on something you said before — usually a promise or statement — and say you didn't really mean it.
Meanings
(Figurative) To retract, soften, or distance oneself from a previously made statement or position.
"The minister was forced to walk back her earlier comments after intense public criticism."
(Literal) To walk back in the direction one has come from.
"We had to walk back to the car park because we missed the last bus."
The figurative sense is now extremely common in political journalism and public discourse, particularly in American English. It often implies a careful or incremental retraction rather than a full admission of error. The literal sense (to walk back the way one came) is less common.
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Forms
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Synonyms
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