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

This meant that the traditional process of trial and error — with the keyframe animators coming up with the individual character performances, then the director giving feedback and the animators going back to the drawing board — would take too long. —Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 2 Jan. 2025

After Anthony graduated, Judy went back to school, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree, eventually becoming an associate athletic director at ASU. —Brent Lang, Variety, 1 Jan. 2025

Podcast explores state's brushes with extremism: Arizona has seen its share of extremist groups and efforts going back decades. —The Arizona Republic, 31 Dec. 2024

The 37-year-old Miami Beach twins and their older brother Tal Alexander all face similar charges based on accusations from women in both Miami Beach and New York going back years. —Ana Claudia Chacin Miami Herald (tns), arkansasonline.com, 31 Dec. 2024