go back

verb

went back; gone back; going back; goes back

intransitive

1

: to return to a place, activity, or situation

I forgot my phone and had to go back.

I left school but later went back.

Once you do this, there's no going back. [=you cannot undo what has been done]

2

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

traditions that go back to ancient times

3

: to have known each other for a particular amount of time or for a long time

We go back 30 years.

They go way back.

4

: to think or talk about something from the past

To understand, you have to go back to when it started.

see also:

go back on

Examples of go back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The relationship between Xi and Zhang went back decades, extending not just to their childhoods but all the way back to their fathers, who were comrades in arms in China’s ferocious civil war. — Jonathan A. Czin, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026

Nick Saban did a similar U-turn, going back to LSU as the Alabama head coach after a crash and burn in the NFL. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Springer, Guerrero and Okamoto went back-to-back-to-back off Trevor Rogers in the fifth inning. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026

Nugent-Hopkins’ most common linemates, going back to the start of his career, include McDavid, Draisaitl, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for go back

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