'倒退' literally combines '倒' (dǎo), meaning 'to fall', 'to reverse', or 'to invert', and '退' (tuì), meaning 'to retreat' or 'to withdraw'. Together, they form a compound verb meaning 'to retreat' in a physical sense—such as moving backward—or 'to regress' in a figurative sense, like reverting to an earlier, less developed state. It emphasizes backward motion or deterioration, often implying loss of progress.

The word is commonly used in both concrete and abstract contexts: animals or machines moving backward ('the crab walks backwards'), political or economic decline ('the country’s reforms have begun to倒退'), or personal setbacks ('her health started to倒退'). Unlike the simpler '后退' (hòutuì), which only means 'to step back', '倒退' carries a stronger connotation of reversal, decline, or unintended regression—sometimes with negative implications.