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 favorite egg recipes, I’m reminded of my childhood and early college years eating at the campus dining hall.
From Salon
James: Yeah, I look back now and you think how young you were.
From BBC
Inara George looks back on it now as wistfully as someone remembering a love affair or a semester abroad.
From Los Angeles Times
If you get a stud in your navel or a little tattoo on your ankle, you aren’t likely to look back later and kick yourself.
"When I look back now and realise how severe things were, I think at the time I was on autopilot," she said.
From BBC
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.
