backpedaling

English

Alternative forms

Verb

backpedaling

  1. (US) present participle and gerund of backpedal

Noun

backpedaling (countable and uncountable, plural backpedalings)

  1. The act of distancing oneself from a previously supported idea, action, behaviour, etc.; a U-turn or flip-flop.
    • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 3:
      Despite the swift backpedalling of the university, the original notice given to stall operators is suggestive of the potential existence of ‘a growing English-speaking elite’ that is ‘happy to maintain the importance of the English language’.
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