go back
verb
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
By the end of the year, just over 90,000 cases remained unresolved on that list — some going back decades.
—
ABC News, 14 Feb. 2026
Wait 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder before going back outside.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
But since then, Smith has gone back and forth talking about his presidential possibilities on his various platforms and to those who broached him with the question.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Also, any federal reimbursements cannot go back into the emergency fund but must be returned to the state general fund.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for go back
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ABC News, 14 Feb. 2026
Wait 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder before going back outside.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
But since then, Smith has gone back and forth talking about his presidential possibilities on his various platforms and to those who broached him with the question.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
Also, any federal reimbursements cannot go back into the emergency fund but must be returned to the state general fund.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for go back
Cite this Entry
“Go back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20back. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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