Back off means to move back or away, or to stop putting pressure on someone and leave them alone. With “from”, it means to drop a plan, usually under pressure: “back off from a plan”. The command “Back off!” sounds rude, like “Leave me alone!” A softer option is “I need some space”.
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back off; back off from + plan/noun; tell someone to back off
- When the dog started growling, I backed off slowly and crossed the street.
- The company backed off from the salary cuts when half the team threatened to leave.
- Reporters waited outside her house every morning, but after a week they finally backed off.
What changed
First versionAfter the protests, the council refused from its plan to raise bus fares.
RevisionAfter the protests, the council backed off from its plan to raise bus fares.
“Refuse” does not combine with “from”: you “refuse an offer” or “refuse to help”. When a council or a company drops a plan under pressure, “back off from” fits. So “refused from” becomes “backed off from”, and the rest of the sentence stays the same.
“Back down” is close in meaning, but it is about giving in during an argument and giving up your position: After a week of complaints, the landlord backed down and fixed the heating. “Back off” does not need an argument: you can back off from an angry dog, stop interfering in someone's life or quietly drop a plan.
Your turn
My sister kept texting me advice about which job to take, so I told her to ___ and let me decide.
Show the answer
back off — The writer wants the sister to stop interfering and let them decide. That is exactly what “back off” means. “Back up” means to support someone (“back someone up”) or to reverse a car, and neither fits advice sent by text.
Think of a time when someone kept pushing you or interfering in your affairs: a salesperson, a colleague or a relative. Write who it was and what you did to make them back off.
A salesman followed me around the phone shop for ten minutes, so I said I was just looking, and he finally backed off.
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