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

After taking a short break to care for her daughter, Monson de Kansky went back to work. — Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

Wait 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder before going back outside. — Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2026

In fact, Iran has no intention of going back to business as usual in the strait, Noam Raydan, senior fellow at the Washington Institute think tank, wrote in a blog post on Friday. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 28 June 2026

But after spending five days in New York, Jones returned home and immediately went back to work. — Arkansas Online, 28 June 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