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Meaning & use

pushback

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈpʊʃbæk/
US/ˈpʊʃbæk/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    Strong resistance or objection from people to a plan, idea or change.

    Grammar: Usually followed by from or against: pushback from staff.

    Patterns

    • pushback from someone
    • pushback against something

    The mayor faced fierce pushback from residents over the new parking fees.

    There was little pushback when the deadline moved.

    Her proposal drew pushback from the finance team.

  2. nouncountableinformal

    A delay or postponement of a planned date or time to a later one.

    Grammar: Informal in business: a pushback of two weeks.

    Patterns

    • a pushback of something

    A pushback of the launch gave the engineers time to fix bugs.

    The pushback on the opening date disappointed fans.

Word forms

pluralpushbacks

Common combinations

face pushback
The airline faced pushback from passengers.
strong pushback
The bill saw strong pushback from doctors.
public pushback
Public pushback forced a rethink.
get pushback
We got pushback from the client about the price.
pushback against
There is growing pushback against the new rules.

Synonyms and how they differ

resistance
It is a general word and sounds more formal, while pushback suggests active objection to something specific.
backlash
It means an angry reaction after something has happened, while pushback can occur beforehand.
opposition
It suggests an organized group against something, while pushback can be a few individual objections.
objection
It is a single statement of disagreement, whereas pushback is the wider reaction.

Opposites

supportacceptance

Word family

push back phrasal verb
to resist or postpone
push verb
to press away from you
pusher noun
one who pushes
pushy adjective
too forceful in making demands

Commonly confused: pushback or push back?

pushback vs push back

Push back is the verb phrase written as two words (they push back on plans), while pushback is the noun written as one.

Practice

The company received heavy ___ from employees when it announced the return-to-office rule.

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