go back

phrasal verb

went back; gone back; going back; goes back

: 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.

: 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.

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

These ruins go back hundreds of years.

: to have known each other for an amount of time

We go back 30 years.

He and I go back a long way.

: 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 Lucas’ history with the fest goes back to 1971, when his feature debut, THX 1138, premiered as part of the Directors’ Fortnight section. —

Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 May 2024 The history they are taught does not go back as far as 1948 when the Jews had to fight to the death to live in U.N.-sanctioned Israel. —

Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 14 May 2024 McKinnon said the study’s findings are not unexpected, as there was already good evidence that the summer of 2023 was record-breaking when compared with measurable data going back to the mid-1800s. —

Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2024 The rest of the year, from the second Sunday in March through the first Saturday in November, the cutoff time goes back an hour to 6:59 p.m. —

Raphael Romero Ruiz, The Arizona Republic, 11 May 2024 McLellan’s film is set in 1992, going back to his own northern New England past and a peak of PSB’s creativity to reenact the development toward adulthood that is so crucial to the chaos engaged by Millennial youth. —

Armond White, National Review, 10 May 2024 McAlmont, who went back to school in his forties for a PhD in higher education from the University of Pennsylvania, steers the conversation to author Patrick Lencioni’s five dysfunctions of a team. —

Bynick Rockel, Fortune, 10 May 2024 The friend went back to his room and sat at his desk. —

Ashley Luthern, Journal Sentinel, 2 May 2024 Start your meal strong with a spring onion dip that will have your guests going back to the bowl for more and more. —

Kara Peeler, Sunset Magazine, 1 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'go back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.