date back
idiom
: to have come into being (a number of years ago)
a custom that dates back 400 years
Examples of date back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Modern shutdowns date back to 1980, when the attorney general issued legal guidance clarifying that agencies could not spend without congressional approval.
—
Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Only four such references are currently known, all of which date back to the 19th century.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025
Complaints about the bug date back to 2021 on Windows 11 and Windows 10 PCs, according to user reports.
—PC Magazine, 4 Nov. 2025
The flag, a symbol of the tribe’s long and hard-fought sovereignty, the ways its people have given to the Elk Grove community, and ties to land that date back, in Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen’s remarks, to time immemorial, launches the city’s commemoration of Native American Heritage Month.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for date back
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Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Only four such references are currently known, all of which date back to the 19th century.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025
Complaints about the bug date back to 2021 on Windows 11 and Windows 10 PCs, according to user reports.
—PC Magazine, 4 Nov. 2025
The flag, a symbol of the tribe’s long and hard-fought sovereignty, the ways its people have given to the Elk Grove community, and ties to land that date back, in Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen’s remarks, to time immemorial, launches the city’s commemoration of Native American Heritage Month.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for date back
Cite this Entry
“Date back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/date%20back. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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