go back to
phrasal verb.phrasal verb. To return to a place where you were before, or to start doing something again that you had stopped.
phrasal verb. A transitive phrasal verb meaning to return to a previous location, state, topic, or activity.
Let's go back to the beginning of the story.
After a long vacation, it was difficult to go back to the routine of daily work.
The politician refused to go back to the controversial topic, skillfully deflecting every question about her past statements.
- return to
- get back to
- revert to
- leave
- depart from
- move on from
- Particles
- back to
- Separability
- inseparable
- Pattern
- go + back + to + object
The object is the destination or the activity/state being resumed.
Contrast with 'return to' (more formal) and 'get back to' (a near-synonym, often used for tasks or communication).
I want to go back at my old job.I want to go back to my old job.The preposition 'to' is required to indicate the destination or the thing being returned to.
Last updated April 24, 2026