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.
"When I look back now, I see how he was trying to gain my trust and lower my guard."
From BBC • Jun. 21, 2026
"I'm the kind of actor who doesn't like to look back to my old films," he laughed.
From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026
“I also look back to that interview in 2018 where I comment that I would keep working with James, and the truth is that I have not and I do not plan to right now.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
Let’s take a look back at how he likes to watch 1988’s Bloodsport, as recounted by the New Yorker’s Mark Singer:
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
I look back, and Alex jogs down the sidewalk toward me.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
