You use back with an intransitive verb to say that someone returns to a place where they were before.
In conversation, instead of saying that someone will 'come back', you often say that they will be back.
Be Careful!
You never use 'back' with the verb return. You do not say, for example, 'He returned back to his office'. You say 'He returned to his office'.
You use back with a transitive verb to say that someone or something is taken or sent to a place where they were before. Back usually goes after the direct object.
When the direct object is a pronoun, back always goes after it.
However, when the direct object is a long noun group, or a noun group followed by a relative clause, you put back in front of the noun group.
Back can also be used to say that someone or something returns to a state they were in before.
Back is also a noun. Your back is the part of your body from your neck to your waist that is on the opposite side to your chest and stomach.
The back of an object is the side or part that is towards the rear or farthest from the front.
The back of a door is the side which faces into a room or cupboard.
The back of a piece of paper is the side which has no writing on, or the side which you look at second.
Note that in British English you do not talk about the 'back side' of a door or piece of paper. However, in American English, this construction is common.
Imperative |
---|
back |
back |
Noun | 1. | ![]() saddle - posterior part of the back of a domestic fowl body part - any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity torso, trunk, body - the body excluding the head and neck and limbs; "they moved their arms and legs and bodies" small - the slender part of the back lat, latissimus dorsi - a broad flat muscle on either side of the back dorsal vertebra, thoracic vertebra - one of 12 vertebrae in the human vertebral column; thoracic vertebrae extend from the seventh cervical vertebra down to the first lumbar vertebra lumbar vertebra - one of 5 vertebrae in the human vertebral column; lumbar vertebrae extend from the twelfth thoracic vertebra down to the sacral vertebrae |
2. | back - the side that goes last or is not normally seen; "he wrote the date on the back of the photograph" side - an extended outer surface of an object; "he turned the box over to examine the bottom side"; "they painted all four sides of the house" | |
3. | ![]() position, place - the particular portion of space occupied by something; "he put the lamp back in its place" front - the part of something that is nearest to the normal viewer; "he walked to the front of the stage" | |
4. | ![]() football, football game - any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal flanker, flanker back - a back stationed wide of the scrimmage line; used as a pass receiver football player, footballer - an athlete who plays American football running back - (football) a back on the offensive team (a fullback or halfback) who tries to advance the ball by carrying it on plays from the line of scrimmage tailback - (American football) the person who plays tailback wingback - (football) the person who plays wingback | |
5. | ![]() notochord - a flexible rodlike structure that forms the supporting axis of the body in the lowest chordates and lowest vertebrates and in embryos of higher vertebrates chine - backbone of an animal canalis vertebralis, spinal canal, vertebral canal - the canal in successive vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes vertebra - one of the bony segments of the spinal column intervertebral disc, intervertebral disk - a fibrocartilaginous disc serving as a cushion between all of the vertebrae of the spinal column (except between the first two) skeletal structure - any structure created by the skeleton of an organism axial skeleton - the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs | |
6. | ![]() book, volume - physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together; "he used a large book as a doorstop" half binding - book binding in which the spine and part of the sides are bound in one material and the rest in another protective cover, protective covering, protection - a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury; "they had no protection from the fallout"; "wax provided protection for the floors" three-quarter binding - the spine and much of the sides are a different material from the rest of the cover | |
7. | ![]() cloth covering - a covering made of cloth | |
8. | ![]() cantle - the back of a saddle seat car seat - a seat in a car chair - a seat for one person, with a support for the back; "he put his coat over the back of the chair and sat down" ladder-back - the backrest of a chair that consists of two uprights with connecting slats support - any device that bears the weight of another thing; "there was no place to attach supports for a shelf" | |
9. | ![]() American football, American football game - a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays position - (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player; "what position does he play?" line backer, linebacker - (American football) the position of a defensive football player who plays close behind the line of scrimmage field general, quarterback, signal caller - (American football) the position of the football player in the backfield who directs the offensive play of his team; "quarterback is the most important position on the team" fullback - (American football) the position of a back on a football team halfback - (American football) the position of a back on a football team tailback - (American football) the position of the offensive back on a football team who lines up farthest from the line of scrimmage wingback - (American football) the position of the offensive back who lines up behind or outside the end backfield - the offensive football players who line up behind the linemen secondary - the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen | |
Verb | 1. | ![]() |
2. | ![]() go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" back out - move out of a space backwards; "He backed out of the driveway" back - cause to travel backward; "back the car into the parking spot" back out - move out of a space backwards; "He backed out of the driveway" | |
3. | ![]() | |
4. | ![]() back - travel backward; "back into the driveway"; "The car backed up and hit the tree" bring forward, advance - cause to move forward; "Can you move the car seat forward?" | |
5. | ![]() finance - obtain or provide money for; "Can we finance the addition to our home?" | |
6. | ![]() lie - be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position | |
7. | ![]() ante - place one's stake | |
8. | ![]() veer - shift to a clockwise direction; "the wind veered" | |
9. | ![]() affirm, confirm, corroborate, substantiate, support, sustain - establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant" | |
10. | back - strengthen by providing with a back or backing strengthen - gain strength; "His body strengthened" | |
Adj. | 1. | ![]() posterior - located at or near or behind a part or near the end of a structure aft - (nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail front - relating to or located in the front; "the front lines"; "the front porch" |
2. | ![]() posterior - located at or near or behind a part or near the end of a structure | |
3. | ![]() noncurrent - not current or belonging to the present time | |
Adv. | 1. | back - in or to or toward a former location; "she went back to her parents' house" |
2. | ![]() | |
3. | back - in or to or toward an original condition; "he went back to sleep" | |
4. | ![]() | |
5. | ![]() | |
6. | back - in repayment or retaliation; "we paid back everything we had borrowed"; "he hit me and I hit him back"; "I was kept in after school for talking back to the teacher" |