Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To regain possession of something previously given or sold: To reclaim ownership or control of an item.
   • To retract or withdraw a statement: To say that something one previously said is not true or should not have been said.
   • To cause someone to remember or think about the past: To evoke a memory or feeling of a previous time.
   • To accept someone or something back: To resume a relationship or responsibility after an interruption.
   • To return something to the place it came from: To bring back to a point of departure (less common).

Usage and Examples

• Regaining possession:

  • The store will take back defective merchandise within 30 days.
  • He took back the book he had lent to his friend.

• Retracting a statement:

  • I apologize for my harsh words; I take them back.
  • You can't just take back a promise like that.

• Causing remembrance:

  • That song really takes me back to my college years.
  • The smell of the ocean took her back to childhood vacations.

• Accepting someone/something back:

  • After their argument, she decided to take him back.
  • The company took back the returned equipment.

Advanced and Specialized Usage

• In printing/text editing: To move text to the previous line. (This usage is highly technical and dated.)
  • The typesetter had to take back several words to fit the margin.

Variants and Related Words

• Takeback (noun): An act of taking back, especially the retraction of a statement or the return of goods.
  • The politician's takeback of his controversial comment was widely reported.

Synonyms

• Reclaim: To retrieve or recover possession of.
• Retract: To withdraw a statement or opinion.
• Recant: To formally withdraw a belief or statement.
• Evoke: To bring a memory or feeling into the mind.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Take over: To assume control of.
• Take up: To begin a hobby or activity; to occupy space or time.
• Take on: To accept a challenge or responsibility.

Related Idioms

• Take back the night: A slogan and movement against sexual violence and for public safety.
• Eat one's words: To be forced to retract a statement humiliatingly (similar to "take back what one has said").
  • After losing the bet, he had to eat his words.

Verb

1. cause someone to remember the past
   • This photo takes me back to the good old days
2. take back what one has said
   • He swallowed his words
3. move text to the previous line; in printing
4. resume a relationship with someone after an interruption, as in a wife taking back her husband
5. regain possession of something
6. bring back to the point of departure