go back

British  

verb

1. to return

2. (often foll by to) to originate (in)

   the links with France go back to the Norman Conquest

3. (foll by on) to change one's mind about; repudiate (esp in the phrase go back on one's word )

4. (of clocks and watches) to be set to an earlier time, as during British Summer Time

   when do the clocks go back this year?

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go back Idioms  

1. Return, retrace one's steps; also, return to a former condition. For example, I'm going back to the haunts of my youth , or We want to go back to the old way of doing things . [First half of 1500s]

2. Extend backward in space or time, as in Our land goes back to the stone wall , or The family name goes back to Norman times . [Second half of 1600s] Also see go back on .

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Example Sentences

None of that would speak to the risk premium coming out of oil prices, he said, so the idea that oil is going to go back below $70 a barrel seems “far-fetched,” according to Turnquist.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

"I don't think you should expect things to go back to business as usual," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

One feature asks the models to go back periodically through tasks and consolidate their memories—a process it calls dreaming.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The confidential process allows a company and the SEC to go back and forth on the S-1 outside the public’s view.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Things would go back to normal, on the surface, but Rachel would never forget this.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Related Words

• renege