beat back
phrasal verb
beat back; beaten back or beat back; beating back; beats back
: to force (someone) to go back or to retreat by fighting
Our troops were beaten back by enemy forces.
Police used batons to beat the protesters back.
Examples of beat back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Legally and technologically, the company that has easily beat back challengers since its founding in 1998, faces perhaps its biggest threat yet.
—
Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 May 2024
Now, Bloomberg Green has learned, a coalition of gas companies and their supporters are planning to wield the restaurants’ legal victory to beat back similar rules across the western US.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024
Later that year, the governor would handily beat back a recall effort.
—Vik Jolly, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
But Democrats say the move is more about beating back the far right than saving Johnson.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 7 May 2024
World & Nation How Taiwan beat back disinformation and preserved the integrity of its election
Jan. 27, 2024
At least one journalist has been indicted on defamation charges for a story about the justice minister that turned out to have major inaccuracies.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
In a setback to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, the mayor of Istanbul is headed for re-election, beating back a broad campaign by the president and his government.
—Ben Hubbard, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Unlike Biden administration officials who have urged Ukrainian leaders not to attack oil refineries and other energy targets on Russian soil, Cameron said that Britain supported Ukraine’s right to take a wide range of actions to beat back the Kremlin.
—Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
But in the following months, Bragg beat back legal challenges.
—Michael Rothfeld Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Laurent Belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 May 2024
Now, Bloomberg Green has learned, a coalition of gas companies and their supporters are planning to wield the restaurants’ legal victory to beat back similar rules across the western US.
—Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024
Later that year, the governor would handily beat back a recall effort.
—Vik Jolly, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
But Democrats say the move is more about beating back the far right than saving Johnson.
—Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 7 May 2024
World & Nation How Taiwan beat back disinformation and preserved the integrity of its election
Jan. 27, 2024
At least one journalist has been indicted on defamation charges for a story about the justice minister that turned out to have major inaccuracies.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
In a setback to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, the mayor of Istanbul is headed for re-election, beating back a broad campaign by the president and his government.
—Ben Hubbard, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Unlike Biden administration officials who have urged Ukrainian leaders not to attack oil refineries and other energy targets on Russian soil, Cameron said that Britain supported Ukraine’s right to take a wide range of actions to beat back the Kremlin.
—Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
But in the following months, Bragg beat back legal challenges.
—Michael Rothfeld Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beat back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Beat back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat%20back. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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