take back
Britishverb
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to retract or withdraw (something said, written, promised, etc)
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to regain possession of
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to return for exchange
to take back a substandard garment
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to accept (someone) back (into one's home, affections, etc)
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to remind one of the past; cause one to reminisce
that tune really takes me back
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(also intr) printing to move (copy) to the previous line
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Retract a statement, as in I said you weren't much of a cook but after that dinner I take it all back . This usage was first recorded in 1775.
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take one back . Return in thought to a past time, as in That music takes me back to the first dance I ever went to . [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.
She said most women leave the clinic with a better understanding of how they have been affected and how they can take back control of their bodies.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Intense fighting took place overnight from Friday to Saturday, before the army and its Russian Africa Corps allies managed to take back control late in the day.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Father and son then begin plotting together to take back the palace from the suitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
“In that environment, they need to take back the 2025 rate cuts.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
In 2016, Turkey made a deal with the European Union to take back Syrian refugees in exchange for Syrians living in Turkey who qualify for asylum in Europe.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
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.
