backpedalling

/B AE1 K P EH0 D AH0 L IH0 NG/
verb
  1. 1

    To pedal backwards on a bicycle.

  2. 2

    To step backwards.

    โ€œThe player had to backpedal before catching the ball.โ€

  3. 3

    To distance oneself from an earlier claim or statement; back off from an idea.

    โ€œThough initially adopting a hard-line stance, the politician soon started to backpedal.โ€

Synonyms

Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/backpedal, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/backpedalling