verb Ideas anyone? meaning: to try to detach yourself (or retreat) from a remark you made or something you did e.g. Mitt Romney backpedaled Tuesday after saying former Sen. Bob Dole is "probably the last person I would have wanted to have write a letter for me."[...] "Let me make it very clear. Senator Dole is an American hero, a war hero, a fine man and a great leader for our party," Romney said in Charleston, W.Va. Public officials have backpedalled on their "lone suspect" theory and have now issued a statement saying there MAY have been more than one person involved. (Newspaper headline) Inauguration committee backpedals on Kid Rock. Despite multiple press reports, spokeswoman says rapper 'not confirmed' for youth concert. Literally, 'to backpedal' means 'to pedal a bicycle backwards'. A further meaning, apparently, is 'to move backward by taking short quick steps, as in boxing or football'