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Glite Dictionary
to go back on

to go back on

33 4.1
Break a promise or agreement
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : incumplir
  • You can't go back on your promise.

Not only have we not made progress towards that, we are actually going back on that.

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Examples

  • I never go back on my word.

    Faithful (1996)

  • I promise, and you know that I don't ever go back on my promises.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • But we went back on our promise to the world.

  • I never thought Uncle Sam would go back on his word.

    Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

  • I never go back on a deal.

    For Your Eyes Only (1981)

  • Would I go back on my word?

    The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

  • But he had given his word, he explained, and he could not go back on it.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Yet she would not go back on the offer once given.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I don't appreciate you going back on your word.

    Permanent Record (1988)

  • It's disappointing when someone chooses to go back on their promise.

Synonyms

to back out
vsto go back on
  • Informal
79 3.4

Decide not to do something you promised to do

can be any failure to keep an obligation and is not always a deliberate withdrawal
to back away
vsto go back on
59 3.9

Stop supporting or taking part in a plan because you feel unsure

is about failing to keep an obligation rather than hesitating and withdrawing
to renege
vsto go back on
25 8.5

To break a promise or agreement and not do what you said you would do

is the same meaning but is a single-word form often used alone
to renege on
vsto go back on
16 7.2

Fail to do something you promised or agreed to

is the same meaning but usually used with a following object
to break a promise
vsto go back on
16 2.6

To fail to do what you said you would do

applies to failing wider obligations including agreements and formal duties
to break a vow
vsto go back on
  • Formal
1 5.0

To not keep a serious promise you made, often in a formal situation

covers failing any promise or obligation not only solemn formal pledges
to row back on
vsto go back on
  • UK
1 7.9

To change an earlier decision or statement because of pressure

is about failing to keep obligations not mainly about reversing public statements
to backstep
vsto go back on
7.1

Take back a promise or support you gave

focuses on failing to honor an obligation rather than the act of stepping back

Antonyms

to keep
∞ 1.0

To do what you promised

to fulfill
  • US
265 2.8

To do what is required or promised

How Trustworthy

to go back on
33 4.1
to betray
397 4.2

Surface Forms

go back on infinitive
going back on present participle
goes back on third person singular
went back on past
gone back on past participle

Morphology

go + back + on

There is a partial connection between the parts: 'go back' can convey reversing or withdrawing and the preposition 'on' ties that action to a commitment, so a learner might infer something like 'withdraw from' a promise. However, the precise sense 'renege/fail to keep a promise' is idiomatic and depends on this specific collocation, so it is not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Go back on may come from the image of someone stepping back over a line they already crossed when they made a promise. If you go back on your word, you are moving away from what you agreed, so the phrase means 'to fail to keep a promise'.