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to return over the same course or route.
to withdraw from an undertaking, position, etc.; reverse a policy.
historical examples

“no matter about this shod horse and his back-track,” he continues, once more heading his own animal to the trail.
gaspar the gaucho mayne reid

it was certainly the path of a war-party of indians on the back-track.
the war trail mayne reid

several times the horse ran over him, the turkey on these occasions turning and taking the back-track.
the boy hunters captain mayne reid

now that he had mounted and taken the back-track, the cause must be different.
the lone ranche captain mayne reid

say, monk, do ye remember readin’ about that back-track stunt last time pulled off five years ago?
the red debt everett macdonald

“now right about face and back-track uptown,” ordered the officer.
oh, you tex! william macleod raine

i could not cross the street and the only thing to do was to back-track.
outwitting the hun pat o’brien

then you can follow over the p-ss and hit green valley, or you can back-track for the ranger’s cabin and for home.
pluck on the long trail edwin l. sabin

“well, i can’t just see us taking time in a short season to back-track and pile up ornamental brush piles,” he admitted.
the rules of the game stewart edward white

the act was determined upon, and le blanc and quackenboss, without more delay, took the back-track for the village.
the war trail mayne reid

verb (intransitive)
to return by the same route by which one has come
to retract or reverse one’s opinion, action, policy, etc
v.

“retrace one’s steps,” figuratively, by 1896, from literal sense, with reference to hunted foxes, from back (adv.) + track (v.). related: backtracked; backtracking.

related terms

boot