climb down

Retreat from position

To climb down is to descend by climbing—down a ladder, a tree, a cliff face.

Figuratively, to climb down is to back away from a position or demand, often reluctantly: After the backlash, the company climbed down from its new policy.

The noun climbdown describes such a retreat: The reversal was a humiliating climbdown.

retract

backtrack

Reverse one's position

withdrawRemove or pull away
concedeAdmit something reluctantly
yieldProduce or relinquish

retreat · apologize · recant · reverse · capitulate · surrender · cave in · eat crow · take back · walk back

descend

ladder

Portable climbing frame

ropeThick twisted fibers
descentDownward slope or lineage
downwardToward a lower position

lower · dismount · mountaineer · abseil · rappel · slope · downhill · foothold · handhold · scramble

Categories

dismountsdismount, get off, hop off, jump off, step off
downward motionsfall, drop, descend, plunge, sink
downward movementssink, dive, drop, fall, dip
declinedecline, in decline, decrease, downswing, on the decline
surrendersurrender, surrenders, surrendering, I surrender, capitulate

Opposites

physical movement

climb downclimb up

Move upward on surface

ascend · go up · scale · mount · climb

rhetorical stance

climb downdouble down

Strengthen one's stance

dig in · stand firm · hold one's ground · stick to one's guns · stand one's ground

conflict escalation

climb downescalate

Increase in severity

ramp up · intensify · raise the stakes · up the ante · provoke

Family

down, climb, climbing, climber, climbs, climbed, descending, climbers, ascension

Familiarity: Top 50,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G