Reverse: meaning, definitions and examples

Use when speaking about changing direction or order of something, often applied in physical and abstract contexts, like reversing a car or reversing a decision.

• She reversed the car out of the driveway.
• The company decided to reverse its policy on remote work.

Most appropriate for situations where someone needs to go back over the same path they just traveled, often metaphorical, referring to revisiting previous actions or decisions.

• We had to backtrack to find the lost keys.
• The politician had to backtrack on his earlier statements.

Appropriate in situations involving withdrawing a statement, promise, or accusation, often carrying a formal or negative connotation.

• The newspaper had to retract the false story.
• He retracted his previous statement in court.

Best used when describing flipping something upside down or reversing its position, order, or arrangement.

• Invert the image to see the hidden details.
• The engineer had to invert the circuit design.