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.
"My AirBnB host said, 'You should go back tonight, because I heard that the younger folks come out at night,'" laughs Timby.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Feuds between male journalists and actresses go back years and years.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
“The weird thing is that if you go back and look at the predictions on this over the last 10 years or more, it’s always been 10%—it’s just a nice round number,” says Mitchell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
It’s good for me that I could put on my hat for putting out other people’s music and then go back and DJ and curate music that way too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Quiet! If we don’t find him, Father’s going to make us go back to The Mountain and work in the mines. Do you want that?”
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.
