look back
Britishverb
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to cast one's mind to the past
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to become increasingly successful
after his book was published, he never looked back
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to pay another visit later
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Remember or think about the past, as in When Mom looked back on the early days of their marriage, she wondered how they'd managed with so little money . [Late 1500s]
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not look back ; never look back . Never show signs of interrupted progress, never return to past circumstances. For example, Once he'd won the Pulitzer Prize, he never looked back . [Late 1800s]
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.
As I look back on my fondest memories savoring raita, I’m reminded less of its nutritional benefits and more of its taste.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
“He knows what it’ll manifest to … you’re gonna look back 20 years from now and everyone will say every move he made was genius,” he said.
From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026
With the 20th anniversary of the pilot this month, we look back at how a producer and his neighbors spawned a sprawling reality TV universe.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
"When I look back now and realise how severe things were, I think at the time I was on autopilot," she said.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
But when I look back at Master Wingfield, I see he is pale and shaken.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
