1 B1 neutral
To return to a place quietly or without being noticed.
"He slipped back into the house after midnight and hoped nobody had heard him."
inseparable
slip back
B1 neutral inseparable intransitive
To return to a previous place, state, or habit quietly or without being noticed, often undesirably.
In plain English
Quietly return to a place or go back to a bad habit or state.
What does "slip back" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 idiomatic neutral
To return to a previous (usually bad) state, habit, or condition, often unintentionally.
"After six months of sobriety, he slipped back into drinking when the stress became too much."
inseparable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To slip (move quietly/smoothly) back to a place — fairly transparent.
Actually means
Quietly return to a place or go back to a bad habit or state.
Usage tip
Common both in a physical sense (slipping back into a room) and in a figurative sense (slipping back into old habits, an addiction, or a worse economic condition). The figurative sense often carries a tone of regret or disappointment.
Words that pair with "slip back"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
old habits recession routine sleep past darkness
How to conjugate "slip back"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
slip back
I/you/we/they
3rd person
slips back
he/she/it
Past simple
sliped back
yesterday
Past participle
sliped back
have + pp
-ing form
sliping back
continuous
Hear "slip back" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "slip back" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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