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↩️ To return 🧠 To remind 💞 To resume relationship 🎁 To regain possession 🙊 To admit wrong
to take back

to take back

61 3.5
Say that what you said before was wrong and you no longer believe it
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk bæk/
translation icon : desdecirse
  • Oh, no, I take back what I said about it being easy.
  • take back my words
  • take back an apology
  • said 'I take back'

I'm not I'm not like religion person that will not take back what they said.

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Examples

  • You say certain things that you can't take back and, you know, you regret it.

  • As I drown in my regrets, I can't take back the words I never said.

    Blog text (2)

  • But I take back what I said about taking the views back.

  • No, wait, I take that back.

    You've Got Mail (1998)

  • OK, so I take back my first thoughts.

  • "If I could take back what I said to you, Temple, I would.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • So I have to take back what I said about the Pixel being as good.

  • Lydia, you need to take back your life.

    Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

  • I just wished I could have taken back what I'd said to Morley about his daughter.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I don't want to keep arguing; I take back my earlier comments about your performance.

Synonyms

to withdraw
vsto take back
103 3.7

To take back something you said before, especially in public

expresses clear admission of error and loss of belief rather than mere removal
to recant
vsto take back
  • Formal
44 8.6

Say publicly that you no longer believe something you said before

is a personal admission rather than a formal or legal renunciation
to retract
vsto take back
  • Formal
41 6.0

To take back a statement or opinion in public

focuses on admitting wrongness and rejecting earlier belief directly
to backpedal
vsto take back
10 6.5

To try to change a previous statement or position to avoid criticism

involves a straightforward admission of past wrong and changed belief
to unsay
vsto take back
1 9.3

To take back words you used earlier

makes an explicit admission of being wrong and rejects the earlier belief
to row back on
vsto take back
  • UK
1 7.9

To change an earlier decision or statement because of pressure

means admitting you were wrong openly and rejecting your earlier view
to eat one's words
vsto take back
  • Informal
6.6

To admit you were wrong and take back what you said

is a neutral admission of error rather than a joking one

Antonyms

to defend
691 2.8

To speak up to support a person or idea when others criticize it

to maintain
163 4.4

Say firmly that something is true

How Strong

to recant
  • Formal
44 8.6
to retract
  • Formal
41 6.0
to take back
61 3.5
to backtrack
42 4.3

Surface Forms

take back infinitive
taking back present participle
takes back third person singular
took back past
taken back past participle

Morphology

take + back

The meaning 'to regain possession' is directly derivable from combining 'take' (to get/receive) with 'back' (to a previous place/state): taking something back implies moving it back to its prior owner or state. This motion/state-restoration pattern with 'back' is common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would typically infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Take back uses the image of taking something you gave away and putting it back: imagine pulling your words back into your mouth, so it means 'to say you were wrong' or 'to withdraw what you said'.