2back adverb
1 a : in, toward, or at the back or rear
▪ The soldiers moved back from the front lines. ▪ The police asked the crowd to move/step back from the scene of the accident. ▪ He left his friends two miles back. ▪ She turned around and looked back toward him. ▪ a chapter beginning several pages back
b : to, toward, or in the place where someone or something was previously
▪ He left his home and never went back. ▪ I had to go back (to the office) for some papers I had left behind. ▪ It's time to go back home. ▪ She took the book off the shelf and forgot to put it back. ▪ She left earlier but she should be back [=return] soon. 2 : in or into the past : backward in time
▪ In the opening chapter the author looks back on his youth. ▪ an event back in the last century ; also : ago
▪ It happened several years back. ▪ I met him in the city two days back. 3 a : to or toward a former state or condition
▪ He has decided to go back to private life. [=to return to private life] ▪ Good farming practices were needed to bring the fields back (to good condition). [=to restore the fields]
b : in return or reply
▪ I gave the book to him and he gave it back (to me). ▪ He refused to give back the borrowed money. ▪ He hit his brother and his brother hit him right back. ▪ talk back ▪ She refused to take back her accusations.
c — used to describe someone or something that is being held or kept from moving forward or happening ▪ He would have jumped if his friends had not held him back. ▪ He vowed that he wouldn't allow poverty to hold/keep him back. [=to keep him from succeeding] ▪ She struggled to hold back a laugh. [=to keep from laughing] ▪ Landslides set the construction job back many days. [=caused the construction job to be delayed many days]
d — used to describe something that is being kept instead of being given or revealed ▪ They held back part of the money. ▪ keep back the truth 4 : to or at an angle
▪ The banks slant evenly back from the highway. ▪ The doctor told her to lie back on the couch. [=to lie down on the couch] ▪ When I get home from work I like to just sit/lean back on the couch and relax.
▪ The soldiers moved back from the front lines. ▪ The police asked the crowd to move/step back from the scene of the accident. ▪ He left his friends two miles back. ▪ She turned around and looked back toward him. ▪ a chapter beginning several pages back
b : to, toward, or in the place where someone or something was previously
▪ He left his home and never went back. ▪ I had to go back (to the office) for some papers I had left behind. ▪ It's time to go back home. ▪ She took the book off the shelf and forgot to put it back. ▪ She left earlier but she should be back [=return] soon.
▪ In the opening chapter the author looks back on his youth. ▪ an event back in the last century ; also : ago
▪ It happened several years back. ▪ I met him in the city two days back.
▪ He has decided to go back to private life. [=to return to private life] ▪ Good farming practices were needed to bring the fields back (to good condition). [=to restore the fields]
b : in return or reply
▪ I gave the book to him and he gave it back (to me). ▪ He refused to give back the borrowed money. ▪ He hit his brother and his brother hit him right back. ▪ talk back ▪ She refused to take back her accusations.
c — used to describe someone or something that is being held or kept from moving forward or happening ▪ He would have jumped if his friends had not held him back. ▪ He vowed that he wouldn't allow poverty to hold/keep him back. [=to keep him from succeeding] ▪ She struggled to hold back a laugh. [=to keep from laughing] ▪ Landslides set the construction job back many days. [=caused the construction job to be delayed many days]
d — used to describe something that is being kept instead of being given or revealed ▪ They held back part of the money. ▪ keep back the truth
▪ The banks slant evenly back from the highway. ▪ The doctor told her to lie back on the couch. [=to lie down on the couch] ▪ When I get home from work I like to just sit/lean back on the couch and relax.
back of
US, informal : on the rear side of (something) : behind
▪ There's an old tractor out back of [=in back of] the barn.
▪ There's an old tractor out back of [=in back of] the barn.
get your own back — see get back at get
