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

The masked man followed, though Ago went back in and voted. —Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024

Now Boys Are Pursuing Their Dreams (Exclusive) Leah, who goes back and forth between New York and North Carolina — where Javon and her daughter live — says the family tries to make the most out of spending as much time together. —Brian Brant, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024

After the end of the exercise on Sunday, the American bomber turned around and went back home. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

But in a week of tough lines in the Big Ten, why not go back to the well once more? —Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024