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

Immigrant rights advocates could try to minimize that effect by going back to court through a class action lawsuit. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 15 May 2025

Wait for 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder before going back out. —Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2025

Celine Dion went back to the start on Tuesday (May 13). —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 May 2025

But go back to the 1970s, and Willie was a scuffling solo artist trying to carve his niche in the industry. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2025

Rhymes for go back

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