Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
backtrack en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.?
Proto-Germanic *baką
Proto-West Germanic *bak
Old English bæc
Middle English bak
English back
English track
English backtrack
From back + track.
Meanings
-
The act of backtracking.
Forms
Translations (7)
it retrocessione (the act of backtracking) · pl cofanie się (the act of backtracking) · es retroceso (the act of backtracking) · bg отстъпка (the act of backtracking) · el οπισθοδρόμηση (the act of backtracking) · fi paluu (the act of backtracking) · fi peruutus (the act of backtracking)
backtrack en · VERB
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg-der.?
Proto-Germanic *baką
Proto-West Germanic *bak
Old English bæc
Middle English bak
English back
English track
English backtrack
From back + track.
Meanings
-
To retrace one's steps.
Trophy in paw, I invest another hour twenty backtracking to find my original spawn-in spot, and reduce Fluffoki and her little friendlings to so much dead flesh, although sorry to say, it being a kids' game, they die in splatters of sparks rather than [...]
2008, Lauren Beukes, Moxyland - Page 86:I dropped my sunglasses and had to backtrack to find them.
-
To repeat or review work already done.
If we backtrack through this problem, maybe we can figure out where we went wrong.
-
To taxi down an active runway in the opposite direction to that being used for takeoff.
Speedbird One: enter and backtrack Runway 27 Left.
-
To exercise a racehorse around the racetrack in the opposite direction to that in which races are run.
-
To go back on or withdraw a statement.
After enormous public outrage, the government backtracked on its proposed ban.
Woodward’s mild rebuke of Tatis received backlash from most players who spoke out, and even Woodward backtracked and reexplained himself the next day.
2020 August 22, Adam Kilgore, “Baseball’s unwritten rules may be softening, but they haven’t gone away”, in The Washington Post:“You saw the disaster that followed when Trump spoke out against the Florida [amendment],” said Trish Crouse, a political science professor at the University of New Haven. “He found himself having to backtrack and reexplain himself.”
2024 June 10, Justine McDaniel and Anumita Kaur, “Harris’s own ballot will include crime measure dividing Democrats in Calif.”, in The Washington Post:
Forms
Deriveds
backtracker · backtracking
Synonyms
backpedal
Translations (33)
pl zrobić ponownie (reviewing previous work) · fi käydä läpi (reviewing previous work) · pl wycofywać się (retracing one's steps) · fi palata samaa tietä (retracing one's steps) · es repasar (reviewing previous work) · oc tornar sul rèire-pè (retracing one's steps) · fi palata (retracing one's steps) · sv gå tillbaka (retracing one's steps) · fi rullata takaisinpäin (taxiing the opposite way down a runway) · ru отступа́ть (retracing one's steps) · da gå tilbage (retracing one's steps) · ru отходи́ть (retracing one's steps) · it retrocedere (retracing one's steps) · ca desfer el camí (retracing one's steps) · pl cofać się (retracing one's steps) · it ripassare (reviewing previous work) · ca recular (retracing one's steps) · it rivedere (reviewing previous work) · ca retrocedir (retracing one's steps) · pl wycofać się (retracing one's steps) · fi mennä takaisin (retracing one's steps) · pl robić ponownie (reviewing previous work) · fr retourner sur ses pas (retracing one's steps) · bg връщам се (retracing one's steps) · it arretrare (retracing one's steps) · es retroceder (retracing one's steps) · pl kołować wstecz (taxiing the opposite way down a runway) · ca tornar-se'n enrere (retracing one's steps) · pl cofnąć się (retracing one's steps) · it parcheggiare contropista (taxiing the opposite way down a runway) · fr revenir sur ses pas (retracing one's steps) · bg отстъпвам (retracing one's steps) · it analizzare (reviewing previous work)