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Glite Dictionary
🔙 To return 🧠 To remind
to bring back

to bring back

436 1.7
Return someone or something to the place they came from
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : devolver
  • After the hike, she promised to bring back the camping gear to the store.
  • bring back home
  • bring back to Earth

Make sure you're bringing it back all the way to your chin.

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Examples

  • I will bring these right back when it is completed.

  • Why did you bring me back?

    Tron (1982)

  • You can bring it right back just like that.

  • And so they brought him back to the United States.

  • Well, we have to bring him back here.

    Here (2024)

  • I need to bring him back to God.

    Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe (2023)

  • Bring it back in one piece.

    Dirty Harry (1971)

  • Yes, what's going on? Are you bringing her back later or what?

    Fiction book (1992)

  • There you are to find the boy of whom Phrenk spoke and bring him back here.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Max would like you to bring back eight-track tapes.

    Armageddon (1998)

Synonyms

to get back
vsto bring back
∞ 1.6

Have again something you had before it was lost or taken

focuses on moving to the original starting place rather than regaining possession
to return
vsto bring back
∞ 1.0

Give something back to its owner or the place it came from

focuses specifically on moving to the original starting place
to recover
vsto bring back
748 2.5

Get back to a normal state after a loss, for example health or money

is about physical movement to the original starting place rather than restoring state
to give back
vsto bring back
684 1.0

Return something to the person who owns it after you use or borrow it

focuses on movement to the original starting place not ownership
to take back
vsto bring back
676 2.1

Return someone or something to the place they came from

has identical meaning but uses different wording
to put back
vsto bring back
449 1.0

Return something to the place where it was before

refers to moving to the start location rather than exact position
to retrieve
vsto bring back
226 3.7

To go and get something and bring it back, for example a dog bringing a ball

emphasizes moving to the original starting place rather than the fetching action
to reunite
vsto bring back
138 3.2

To bring people or things back together after being apart

focuses on moving to the original starting place rather than simply joining
to send back
vsto bring back
123 1.5

To return something to the person or place it came from

is about moving to the place where they started

Antonyms

to take away
795 2.3

To remove something from a place or reduce something important, for example a right

How Restored

to restore
219 3.5
to bring back
436 1.7
to return
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

bring back infinitive
bringing back present participle
brings back third person singular
brought back past
brought back past participle

Morphology

bring + back

The meaning 'to return someone or something' is directly compositional from 'bring' (to carry/transport) combined with 'back' (to the previous place or direction). This verb + particle pattern is a common, literal motion construction in English and many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Bring back comes from the literal idea of carrying something to its old place, like when you bring a borrowed book back to its shelf. That's why it means 'to return'.