From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishback away phrasal verb1 BACK/BACKWARDSto move backwards and away from someone or something, especially because you are frightened from She backed away from the menacing look on his face.2 STOP DOING somethingto stop supporting a plan or idea, or stop being involved in something from The government has backed away from its nuclear weapons strategy. → back→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
back away• "Are you crazy?'' she cried, backing away.• Anxiety and worry may inhibit parents from willingly backing away.• Moving into a situation is usually less tiring than backing away.• Then I slowly stand up, and they see the length of me and back away.• Then, perhaps feeling that his gesture was mawkish, he looked embarrassed, took the flowers out and backed away.• Needless loss of life resulted from a policy that emphasized backing away from provocation and discouraging self-defense.• We slowly backed away from the rattlesnake.• He started to back away, just as he had when he saw my dad.• Alan had backed away until he'd felt the rubbery darkness looming behind him.back from• This usually means the person making the statement has been offended and is backing away from a relationship with that person.• But lawmakers and health experts are already backing away from Bush's first steps toward overhauling federal health insurance.• She backed away from the big green car, all the while keeping her eyes on the man.• The tanks backed away from the fences, the crowds passed from the precipice of death to the summits of elation.• We slowly backed away from the rattlesnake.back from• This usually means the person making the statement has been offended and is backing away from a relationship with that person.• But lawmakers and health experts are already backing away from Bush's first steps toward overhauling federal health insurance.• She backed away from the big green car, all the while keeping her eyes on the man.• The tanks backed away from the fences, the crowds passed from the precipice of death to the summits of elation. 