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

"It isn't a joke - it is April the 1st and we are going back."

From BBC

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

But worse yet, they said, the outcome “would cast a shadow over the citizenship of millions upon millions of Americans, going back generations.”

From Los Angeles Times

"It is probably about going back to being a workhorse that doesn't miss and has high skill," he says.

From BBC

"I hope the world will be peaceful again and things go back to the way they were. I pray that the war will stop," says Tactacon in Qatar.

From BBC

Related Words

• renege