take back
Britishverb
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to retract or withdraw (something said, written, promised, etc)
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to regain possession of
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to return for exchange
to take back a substandard garment
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to accept (someone) back (into one's home, affections, etc)
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to remind one of the past; cause one to reminisce
that tune really takes me back
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(also intr) printing to move (copy) to the previous line
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Retract a statement, as in I said you weren't much of a cook but after that dinner I take it all back . This usage was first recorded in 1775.
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take one back . Return in thought to a past time, as in That music takes me back to the first dance I ever went to . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The researchers ran a series of experiments to determine whether and when reappropriation—or the act of claiming or taking back a negative label—might help brands neutralize negative feedback and win over consumers.
My name couldn’t be changed or taken back, because in The Kingdom your name isn’t just what people call you.
From Literature
The Kurds had repeatedly urged countries to take back their citizens but most only repatriated a trickle, fearing security threats and a domestic political backlash.
From Barron's
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates this month, taking back an interest-rate cut delivered as recently as August, after the central bank’s forecasts for inflation in mid-2025 proved far too optimistic.
They are “simply taking back what we paid in.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
