Climbdown

Pronunciation varies by accent · noun

Meaning

(figurative) A retreat or withdrawal from an earlier position or opinion; a backdown..

Example Sentences

Thursday's court appearance as he waited for his case to be heard was a humiliating climbdown for the flamboyant Texan, who sports the clipped mustache and Saville Row style of English aristocracy.

There will be “a cost” to the government’s climbdown on welfare changes at the budget, one of Keir Starmer’s senior ministers has said, as a leading fiscal thinktank said new tax rises appeared increasingly likely.

The reward for this climbdown is Tehran’s agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz, the strategic energy chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes – and which was open until the US and Israel began unleashing military strikes on 28 February.

Synonyms for climbdown

Antonyms for climbdown

Related Words

Word Forms

• climbdowns
• climb-down

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions