back
adverb/bæk/
/bæk/
For the special uses of back in phrasal verbs, look at the entries for the verbs. For example pay somebody back is in the phrasal verb section at pay.Idioms - to or into the place, condition, situation or activity where somebody/something was before
- When is he coming back to work?
- He'll be back on Monday.
- Don't forget to bring it back when you've finished with it.
- Please give me my ball back.
- Put the book back on the shelf.
- Could you go back to the beginning of the story?
- She woke up briefly and then went back to sleep.
- I can't wait to get back home.
- It takes me an hour to walk there and back.
- We were right back where we started, only this time without any money.
- It's good to have the whole family back together again.
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- away from the front or centre; behind you
- I moved back to let them pass.
- Sit back and relax.
- You've combed your hair back.
- He turned and looked back.
- She fell back towards the end of the race.
- at a place previously left or mentioned
- We should have turned left five kilometres back.
- Back at home, her parents were worried.
- in return or reply
- She's a tough kid, who, when attacked, fights back hard.
- If he hits me, I'll hit him back.
- Could you call back later, please?
- at a distance away from something
- The barriers kept the crowd back.
- Stand back and give me some room.
- in or into the past; ago
- The cathedral dates back to 1123.
- The village has a history going back to the Middle Ages.
- She left back in November.
- That was a few years back.
- under control; prevented from being expressed or coming out
- He could no longer hold back his tears.
- fashionable again
- Beards are back.
- I wonder if flares will ever come back in?
as before
away from front
at a previous place
in return
at a distance
in past
under control
fashionable again
Word OriginOld English bæc, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch and Old Norse bak. The adverb use dates from late Middle English and is a shortening of aback.
Idioms
See back in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee back in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishback and forth
- from one place to another and back again repeatedly
- ferries sailing back and forth between the islands
back in the day
- in the past
- My dad's always talking about how great everything was back in the day.
back in the days
- at a particular time in the past
- I was a fan back in the days when the band wasn't yet famous.
back of something
- (North American English, informal) behind something
- the houses back of the church
back to square one
- a return to the situation you were in at the beginning of a project, task, etc., because you have made no real progress
- If this suggestion isn't accepted, we'll be back to square one.
come back/down to earth (with a bang/bump) | bring somebody (back) down to earth (with a bang/bump)
- (informal) to return, or to make somebody return, to a normal way of thinking or behaving after a time when you/they have been very excited, not very practical, etc. see also down to earth
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