Definition of "backpedal"

backpedal

/ˈbækˌpɛdəɫ/

verb
third-person singular simple present backpedals, present participle (US) backpedaling or (UK) backpedalling, simple past and past participle (US) backpedaled or (UK) backpedalled
1. (intransitive) To pedal backwards on a bicycle.
  Quotations
  The road was on a hill and the boy was going down the slope, and as he flashed by he started backpedalling very quickly so that the free-wheeling mechanism of his bike made a loud whirring sound.
  1984, Roald Dahl, Boy
2. (intransitive) To step backwards.
3. (intransitive, idiomatic) To distance oneself from an earlier claim or statement; back off from an idea.