Meaning & use
backed into a corner
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Meanings
phraseidiomfigurative
In a position where you have no good choices left and may have to fight or take a drastic step.
Grammar: Often passive or with feel: the team was backed into a corner; someone else does the backing.
Patterns
- be backed into a corner
- back someone into a corner
The union felt backed into a corner when the company refused any talks.
When she was backed into a corner, she told the whole truth.
The new rules left small shops backed into a corner.
phraseidiom
Literally pushed back into the corner of a room by someone, so you cannot escape.
Grammar: Literal use is less common: the cat was backed into a corner by the dog.
Patterns
- back someone into a corner
The frightened kitten was backed into a corner by the large dog.
The robber backed the clerk into a corner and demanded the cash.
Common combinations
- feel backed into a corner
- Residents felt backed into a corner by the new fees.
- back someone into a corner
- Do not back him into a corner or he will lash out.
- politically backed into a corner
- The prime minister was politically backed into a corner.
- fight when backed into a corner
- Animals often fight when backed into a corner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cornered
- It is shorter and also suggests being trapped, while backed into a corner emphasizes being forced step by step.
- trapped
- It is more general and can be physical, whereas backed into a corner suggests being pressured by others.
- up against the wall
- It suggests desperate pressure like backed into a corner, but with more focus on danger.
- with no way out
- It is plain and less colorful, lacking the sense of being pushed there.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: backed into a corner or back into?
backed into a corner vs back into
Back into a space can mean simply reverse a car, while backed into a corner is the idiom about being trapped.
Practice
The company had no cash, no buyers and creditors demanding payment; it felt ___.
Choose one answer.
Backed into a corner means having no good options left. Off the hook means escaping blame, the opposite of what the sentence describes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “backed into a corner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.