back down

back down (third-person singular simple present backs down, present participle backing down, simple past and past participle backed down)

(idiomatic, intransitive) To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have.
I was about to sue them, but I had to back down.

The boys had planned to fight during recess, but backed down after the principal found out.
- 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 June 2013:
  By the time politicians in several cities backed down on Tuesday and announced that they would cut or consider reducing fares, the demonstrations had already morphed into a more sweeping social protest, with marchers waving banners carrying slogans like “The people have awakened.”
(idiomatic, transitive) To make (someone) take a less aggressive position.
- 1980 February 9, Chris Guilfoy, anonymous quotee, “Town Meeting Talks About The Issue of Violence”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 28, page 1:
  I have backed down so many men by confronting them. I'm willing to fight back. If you have that rage in your heart and you are willing to kill, that radiates.
(idiomatic) To withdraw from a commitment or position; back out.

to take less aggressive position

Albanian: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Catalan: fer-se enrere, fer marxa enrere
Chinese:
Mandarin: 做出讓步 / 做出让步 (zuòchū ràngbù)
Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: perääntyä (fi)
French: baisser d'un ton (fr)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: nachgeben (de), eine Rückzieher machen (idiom, coll.), zurückrudern (de) (fig., coll.)
Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
Italian: cedere (it)
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
Polish: dać za wygraną (pl) pf, dawać za wygraną impf, wycofać (pl) pf
Portuguese: recuar (pt), voltar atrás
Romanian: ceda (ro)
Russian: пойти́ на усту́пки pf (pojtí na ustúpki), пойти́ на попя́тный (ru) pf (pojtí na popjátnyj), дать за́дний ход (ru) pf (datʹ zádnij xod), спасовать (ru) pf (spasovatʹ)
Slovak: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: recular (es), echarse atrás
Swedish: ge med (sv), ge vika (sv)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

English