back off
verb
Forms backs off backing off backed off
- verb (literally) To move backwards away from something. “I tried to back off slowly from the tiger in my path.”
- verb (idiomatic) To become less aggressive, particularly when one had appeared committed to act. “You need to back off, or the situation could turn ugly.”
- verb (idiomatic) To lower the setting of. “Could you back off the volume a bit? It’s really loud.”
- verb Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see back, off. “The machine may go back off if it gets too hot. [= turn off again, turn back off].”
Synonyms
dial back turn down back up back down chicken out pull out bow out
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “back off”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details