back up your claims

Meaning

To provide evidence, data, or proof to support statements or assertions that one has made. It is commonly used in debates, discussions, journalism, and everyday arguments.

Examples

• If you're going to accuse him of lying, you'd better have some evidence to back up your claims.

  If you're going to accuse him of lying, you'd better have some evidence to back up your claims.

• The scientist was unable to back up her claims with reproducible data.

  The scientist was unable to back up her claims with reproducible data.

• You make a lot of assertions, but you never back up your claims.

  You make a lot of assertions, but you never back up your claims.

• The marketing department needs to back up their claims about the product's efficiency.

  The marketing department needs to back up their claims about the product's efficiency.

• Before we publish the article, we must ensure we can back up our claims.

  Before we publish the article, we must ensure we can back up our claims.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ You need to support up your claims.

  ✓ You need to back up your claims.

  The verb 'support' does not take the preposition 'up'. Only the phrasal verb 'back up' requires 'up' to mean provide support.

• ✗ He couldn't background his claims.

  ✓ He couldn't back up his claims.

  Learners sometimes confuse the noun 'background' with the phrasal verb 'back up' when trying to express providing supporting proof.

Related Expressions

Practice

• It's a bold theory, but can you ___ with actual data?

  💡 Provide evidence for what you say.

  Show answer

  back up your claims

• Without any witnesses, it will be hard to ___ in court.

  💡 Support your assertions with proof.

  Show answer

  back up your claims