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.
For decades, their families could look back at their sacrifices in sorrow but also in pride at how their lives had forged a true American democracy.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Like I said, it’s OK to look back and wish you had done some things differently, but fixating on the past isn’t always helpful.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
One cannot examine the past without acknowledging that we look back from the perspective of where we stand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
By that, I mean they will look back with frustration, and look ahead with the same hope that things will be different next time.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
After a second, she turns her head to look back.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
