🔄 Changing decision 🧩 Problem-solving method ↩️ Going back

backtracking

1 5.3

Going back along the same route to return to a previous point

noun
/ˈbækˌtrækɪŋ/

: retroceso

In programming, backtracking can be useful for finding the right solution by retracing previous steps.

So we're going to do a little bit of backtracking.

Examples

The detective's backtracking through the clues helped him uncover important evidence from the case.
Now, backtracking a little while at the start, I was showing you lots of sort of applications.
For spatial navigators like myself, the idea of going the wrong direction and backtracking is anathema.

Blog text (16)
After realizing he had taken the wrong trail, he started the backtracking process to return to the right path.

Synonyms

retracement

vsbacktracking

7.2

Going back over a route to return to a previous point

is used especially when going back to fix a previous mistake

turnback

vsbacktracking

4.4

A decision to stop a journey and go back because of a problem

focuses on returning to fix an error rather than simply changing direction

traceback

vsbacktracking

7.5

A way of finding where something started, for example the source of a problem

involves physically going back over steps to reach a prior point or correct it

Surface Forms

backtracking singular

backtrackings plural

Morphology

backtracking = backtrack (transparent) = back + track + ing

The meaning 'to retrace one's route' is a direct, literal combination of 'back' + 'track' + '-ing'.

Etymology

Backtracking is made of back and track, like 'going back along a path' or a trail. So it means retracing your route or steps to return to an earlier point.