go back

phrasal verb

went back; gone back; going back; goes back

1

: to return to a place

I forgot my purse and had to go back for it.

After college she went back home.

Go back inside! You'll catch cold.

2

: to return to doing something

I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.

He waved hello, then went right back to work.

She went back to eating her dinner.

3

: to have existed for a particular amount of time or since a particular period

These ruins go back hundreds of years.

4

: to have known each other for an amount of time

We go back 30 years.

He and I go back a long way.

5

: to think or talk about something from the past

To fully understand the issues, we have to go back a few years.

Examples of go back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wait 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder before going back outside. —Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 4 Oct. 2025

After briefly returning home to get sober, Joplin went back to California and joined the band Big Brother & The Holding Company in 1966, according to PBS. —Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025

The ladies began going back and forth, taunting one another with ghost writer claims and star power. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 3 Oct. 2025

Fortunately, in the case of Florida springs, historical observations from naturalists and area residents give scientists clues going back centuries. —Christopher F. Meindl, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for go back

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback