Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Back off for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's term is "back off" — a phrasal verb, pronounced /bæk ɒf/, with a firm little stress on "off".
Narrator: To back off means to retreat or stop pressuring — to give someone space, or to ease away from a demand.
Narrator: In plain English, to back off is to stop pushing — to step back, calm down, and leave someone or something alone.
Narrator: We tell a pushy seller to back off, back off from a heated row, or ask a system to back off and try again later.
Narrator: It joins "back", rearward, with "off", away — together, a firm move to withdraw or release pressure.
Narrator: It grew in English as a blunt, forceful phrasal verb, often spoken as a sharp command to give room.
Narrator: Over time it gained a calm technical sense too — in computing, to back off is to slow down and retry gently.
Narrator: In tone it ranges from sharp to neutral, common in confrontation, everyday speech, and networking alike.
Narrator: So remember: to back off is to ease away — to stop pressuring, give space, or slow down before trying again.
Speaker A: That salesman just wouldn't back off — he kept pushing and pushing until I finally walked out.
Speaker B: Back off! To stop pressuring. So you wanted him to ease up and give you room?
Speaker A: Exactly. "Just back off a bit," I said — asking him to stop crowding me.
Speaker B: Right — and it can be sharp, can't it? Almost a warning when someone says it.
Speaker A: Yes. "Back off!" she snapped — firmly telling him to leave her alone.
Speaker B: A common mix-up, though, is confusing "back off" with "back away" — back away is to retreat physically, back off is to ease pressure.
Speaker A: True — you back away from a cliff, but you back off a person. From "back" plus "off".
Speaker B: Lovely and punchy. Close synonyms? "Ease off", "relent", "withdraw".
Speaker A: Though "relent" means finally softening, while "back off" is the active stepping-back itself.
Speaker B: Exactly. "Back off" keeps that sense of releasing the pressure.
Speaker A: A firm phrase for easing away.
Speaker B: Let's use "back off" in AI prompts to mean a polite, smart retry — systems that slow down instead of hammering.
Speaker A: So back off in a prompt means asking the AI to ease pressure on a server when things go wrong?
Speaker B: Exactly. For retries, you'd write:
Prompt: When my API call fails, back off and wait longer before each retry. Use a back-off that doubles the delay, so a struggling server gets breathing room instead of being hammered until it falls over completely.
Speaker B: The phrase "back off" sets the behaviour — it tells the model to retreat smartly, not to keep pounding.
Speaker A: Clear and kind to the server. What about rate limits?
Speaker B: Try this:
Prompt: When I hit a rate limit, back off automatically until the window resets. Build a back-off that respects the limit, so my app pauses politely and resumes on its own rather than getting blocked for abusing the service.
Speaker A: So the app behaves itself.
Speaker B: Right. For notifications:
Prompt: If a user ignores a prompt twice, back off and stop nagging them for a week. Make the app back off gracefully, so people feel respected instead of pestered and are far more likely to return on their own.
Speaker A: What about background jobs?
Speaker B: Here you go:
Prompt: When the database is busy, have my background job back off and try again in a minute. Use a gentle back-off, so heavy tasks wait their turn and never starve the live users who need the database right now.
Speaker A: Could back off guide a search box too?
Speaker B: Absolutely:
Prompt: Make my search box back off and wait until the user stops typing before sending a request. Add a short back-off delay, so the server isn't flooded with a query on every keystroke and results still feel instant.
Speaker A: So "back off" means a polite, smart retreat.
Speaker B: Exactly — a firm phrase that tells the AI to ease pressure and retry gently.
Back off — meaning in Arabic & definition More B courses GL Dictionary