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to send back

to send back

3 4.9
To move a case to another court or group for review
  • phrasal verb
  • /sɛnd bæk/
  • Formal
translation icon : remitir
  • I will never accept a bad deal, which is why I have sent back the COVID relief bill to Congress.
  • send back the case

And so it needs to be sent back for a new trial.

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Examples

  • In May, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia for further review.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Also, here in Pennsylvania, the state supreme court sent the issue back to the commonwealth courts.

    Blog text (9)
  • And so it needs to be sent back for a new trial.

  • So I made a lot of noise about it, and it's been sent back to the trial court, right, right.

  • Therefore, it sent the case back to the trial court to specify the standard of review it had used for each issue.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Well, the case could be sent back to the prosecution for further investigation to ensure that no detail is overlooked.

  • As a result, Chronic's case was sent back to the lower court.

  • The justices' decision sends the case back down for a continuation of the battle.

    Blog text (9)
  • The Court's decision sends the case back to the Denver-based 10th Circuit to decide whether the restriction on abortions after 20 weeks is constitutional on its face.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The committee decided to send back the proposal for further review.

Synonyms

to remand
vsto send back
  • Jargon
7 8.2

To send a case back to a court or committee for more action

is for referring a matter to a different body for new decision or consideration
to recommit
vsto send back
  • Formal
1 7.2

To send something back to a previous place or authority for further review

means sending to a different authority for a new decision not back to previous
to remit
vsto send back
  • Formal
1 7.6

To send a case to another group or court for a decision

focuses on sending a matter for a new decision or further consideration

Antonyms

1.0

To end a disagreement by choosing a final outcome

How Authoritative

to remand
  • Jargon
7 8.2
to send back
  • Formal
3 4.9
to recommend
2.1
to suggest
1.6

Surface Forms

send back infinitive
sent back past
sent back past participle
sending back present participle
sends back third person singular

Morphology

send + back

The meaning is directly compositional: 'send' (to cause something to be delivered) combined with 'back' (to a previous place or person) yields 'return or refer something to an earlier/other authority.' This motion/transfer + particle pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English verb+particle semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended sense.

Etymology

Send back used about cases or proposals comes from the image of send + back: a judge or committee puts a case in a folder and sends it back to a lower court or group to look at again. So it means 'to refer a matter to a different authority for further consideration'.