Definition of "push back"

push back

noun
plural push backs
1. Alternative spelling of pushback
verb
third-person singular simple present pushes back, present participle pushing back, simple past and past participle pushed back
1. To refute or argue against a position or an accusation; to express one's own view on a situation.
2. To postpone.
3. (migration) To summarily expel asylum seekers, especially in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
  Quotations
  EU member states have used illegal operations to push back at least 40,000 asylum seekers from Europe’s borders during the pandemic […]
  2021 May 5, Lorenzo Tondo, “Revealed: 2,000 refugee deaths linked to illegal EU pushbacks”, in The Guardian‎
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see push,‎ back.