pushback

plural pushbacks · alternative push back · alternative push-back

1. countableuncountableThe act of repelling an enemy, etc.
2. countableuncountableaeronauticsA procedure in which an aircraft is pushed backwards away from the gate by some external force, usually a special tractor.
3. countablefigurativelyuncountableA reversal or reduction.

   Sweden, as well as the UK, recently announced pushbacks on green targets and budgets, while there are negative noises from Germany on building insulation costs.

   2023 October 10, Senay Boztas, “Frans Timmermans urges European left to unite against right’s climate backlash”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

4. countablefigurativelyuncountableCriticism of or resistance to a proposal, stance, or event.

   More pushback from Hill on eavesdropping [title]

   2006 March 1, Peter Grier, “More pushback from Hill on eavesdropping”, in The Christian Science Monitor

   4 more examples

   Moreover, when Democrats, notably former House minority leader Richard Gephardt, finally put their heads up in the late spring of 2002 to ask questions about that Aug. 6, 2001, memo warning of the possibility of terrorist attacks, the Republican pushback was furious.

   2006 September 29, E. J. Dionne Jr., “Why Bill Clinton Pushed Back”, in Washington Post

   We’ve seen that before, too: civil rights era sit-ins and freedom rides with multiracial participants drew the fierce ire of authorities alike, but black protesters were far more likely to be targeted with harsh jail sentences and violent pushback.

   2014 December 19, Paul M Farber, “Die-ins demand that we bear witness to black people's fears that they'll be next”, in The Guardian

   “I started just connecting the dots between extreme weather and climate change, and then the volume of pushback started to increase quite dramatically,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

   2023 July 9, AP, quoting Chris Gloninger, “‘You should have seen this note’: US meteorologists harassed for reporting on climate crisis”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Obsessed only with cost, 'Sir Humphrey' saw that Transport for London 'got away' with ticket office closures on the Tube with only minor public pushback and miscalculated that it could do the same on the national network. This assumption backfired spectacularly.

   2023 August 9, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Disinterested and dishonest”, in RAIL, number 989, page 3

5. countableuncountableinternational lawSummary expulsion of asylum seekers, especially when violating the principle of non-refoulement.

   "Every single pushback represents a violation of international and EU law – whether it involves violence or not."

   2021 May 5, Lorenzo Tondo, quoting Nicola Bay, “Revealed: 2,000 refugee deaths linked to illegal EU pushbacks”, in The Guardian

   1 more example

   Jasmin Redjepi, president of Legis, said the “disturbing and degrading” pushbacks came shortly after an EU-Serbian border cooperation summit, aimed at strengthening the Serbian border against people-smuggling operations.

   2024 February 22, Katy Fallon, Lorenzo Tondo, “Videos show migrants stripped of clothing in freezing temperatures at Serbian border”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

6. UScountableuncountablebroadcastingSquashing the main video channel into part of the screen to allow another video feed to be played simultaneously; especially, to squeeze the credits of a show in order to play adverts.

   CBS’s new brand identity end credits “pushback”

   2018 October 5, Michael P. Hill, “NBC forgoes complete brand overhaul, but does add new vanity card”, in Newscast Studio

   Synonyms: squeeze