go back
Britishverb
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to return
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(often foll by to) to originate (in)
the links with France go back to the Norman Conquest
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(foll by on) to change one's mind about; repudiate (esp in the phrase go back on one's word )
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(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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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]
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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 .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To find the city as spellbound by its basketball team, you have to go back to the 1970 and 1973 champions, with the likes of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and smooth Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
I find myself wishing teams and MLB would go back to enforcing traditional uniform standards.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
So, why can't it go back within a circular economy and contribute to other students' prom experience?
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Then, if people get interested, they can go back and read everything else you’ve written.
From Slate • Jun. 4, 2026
Maybe I should find the path and go back, but then I saw smoke rising in the distance.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
