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
Government forces and thousands of fighters — including from Sunni jihadist factions — beat back the loyalists but also hunted down Alawites, who share Assad’s religion and were seen by many Syrians as complicit in his policies.
—
Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
In mid-March, a judge in Missouri ordered a re-trial in a case that Abbott and its rival Reckitt won in November , beating back allegations that their specialized formulas for premature babies caused a severe intestinal illness known as necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
Only hours before the Kenneth Fire roared to life officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s two devastating wildfires.
—John Seewer, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2025
One of the first militias was born in the Kunduz district of Khanabad, the brainchild of the Georgia National Guard officer desperate to beat back the Taliban.
—Azam Ahmed, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
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Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025
In mid-March, a judge in Missouri ordered a re-trial in a case that Abbott and its rival Reckitt won in November , beating back allegations that their specialized formulas for premature babies caused a severe intestinal illness known as necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025
Only hours before the Kenneth Fire roared to life officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back the region’s two devastating wildfires.
—John Seewer, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2025
One of the first militias was born in the Kunduz district of Khanabad, the brainchild of the Georgia National Guard officer desperate to beat back the Taliban.
—Azam Ahmed, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for beat back
Cite this Entry
“Beat back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat%20back. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
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