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Glite Dictionary
🔄 To return ↩️ To revisit 💬 To respond quickly ⚽ To catch up
to come back

to come back

289 1.3
To return to a previous subject or point
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm bæk/
: retomar
  • Maybe we'll come back to this image later on.
  • come back to it later
  • come back into the story

And it all keeps coming back to what's wrong with you.

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Examples

  • When he asks questions, he listens to the answer but will come back with more questions.

    Academic text (2015)

  • We want to hold their interest, and we want them to come back to future concerts.

    Academic text (1994)

  • That way, when you quit and you come back, it's there.

  • And the question is, when we come back, what can a person do?

  • We can come back and talk after that.

    Where the Truth Lies (2005)

  • We can come back another time.

    Trent (2015)

  • In the end, therefore, the issue is cultural, a point I will come back to.

    Academic text (2018)

  • I suggest we go on to the next presentation and come back to the discussion.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Well, we could come back another time, couldn't we?

    Maybe I Do (2023)

  • In our next meeting, let us come back to the issue of budget planning.

Synonyms

to go back
vsto come back
∞ 1.0

Return to a previous place, topic, or state

focuses on an earlier mentioned subject or state rather than physical places
to return
vsto come back
∞ 1.0

Go back to a place, state or activity

is limited to earlier mentioned subjects or topics rather than places or actions
to resume
vsto come back
272 3.1

To start an activity again after a pause

is about addressing an earlier mentioned subject rather than continuing interrupted actions
to revisit
vsto come back
80 3.7

To return to an idea or topic to think about it again

is a general repeat rather than a careful reconsideration
to revert
vsto come back
75 4.2

To go back to a previous state or way of doing things

focuses on earlier mentioned subjects or topics rather than restoring old methods or states
to circle back
vsto come back
  • Jargon
27 4.4

To return to a topic later to talk about it

refers to an earlier mentioned subject without stressing later timing
to recur
vsto come back
1 6.2

Go back to the same idea in thought or conversation

is a single mention of an earlier subject rather than repeated occurrences

Antonyms

to move on
∞ 3.1

To start the next stage or activity and stop focusing on the past

How Thoroughly

to dwell on
71 5.2
to revisit
80 3.7
to come back
289 1.3
to mention
∞ 1.0
to touch on
77 3.4

Surface Forms

come back infinitive
come back past participle
coming back present participle
comes back third person singular
came back past

Morphology

come + back

The meaning 'to reach an equal score after being behind' is a straightforward metaphorical extension of 'come' (to move/arrive) + 'back' (to a previous position): learners who know both constituents can infer a return or recovery to a prior state. This motion verb + particle composition is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner will likely understand this sports sense from the parts.

Etymology

Come back gives the image of going back to an earlier place in a conversation or story, with the parts come and back showing that movement. That's why it means 'to return to a previous subject or state'.