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go back

A2 neutral intransitive
In simple words

To return to where you were before, or to have existed since a long time ago.

Literal meaning: To go (travel) back (in the reverse direction) — transparent.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To return to a place, person, or situation you were in before.

"She left her phone at the restaurant and had to go back to get it."

2 B1 idiomatic neutral

To have existed or originated since a particular time in the past.

"This cathedral goes back to the twelfth century."

3 B1 neutral

To return to a previous topic in a conversation or argument.

"Can I go back for a moment? I didn't quite understand what you said about the budget."

Usage notes

Extremely common and multifunctional. 'This tradition goes back centuries' means it has existed for centuries. 'Go back to sleep' is a very frequent command. Also used in discourse to re-examine a previous point ('let me go back to what I said earlier').

Commonly used with

basics sleep beginning past origins start

Forms

Base
go back
I/you/we/they
3rd person
goes back
he/she/it
Past simple
went back
yesterday
Past participle
gone back
have + pp
-ing form
going back
continuous

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