backpedal

verb

1. (intransitive)To pedal backwards on a bicycle.

   “The road was on a hill and the boy was going down the slope, and as he flashed by he started backpedalling very quickly so that the free-wheeling mechanism of his bike made a loud whirring sound.”

2. (intransitive)To step backwards.

   “The player had to backpedal before catching the ball.”

3. (idiomatic, intransitive)To distance oneself from an earlier claim or statement; back off from an idea.

   “Though initially adopting a hard-line stance, the politician soon started to backpedal.”

   “The best car sound of 1999 is that of a new Rover 75 being furiously backpedalled through the motoring page of the Sunday Times.”

   “There were harsher comments from Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas: "The negotiations are in a state of paralysis, and the result of Israel's intransigence and America's backpedalling is that there is no hope of negotiations on the horizon."”

   “President Donald Trump backpedaled on his threat to shut down the southern border, saying Thursday that now he doesn’t think the US will “ever have to close the border.””

   “Adidas is backpedaling fast over its latest attempt to protect its iconic three-stripe mark.”

noun

1. An act of backpedalling (in any sense).

   “He should come out of his backpedal and turn to run only when a receiver threatens to get behind him in the zone.”

   “They were doing 50 yards of lunges, 50 yards of backpedals, sprinting for 50 yards and power walking one mile around the track to help him reach his target heart rate.”