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

to take back

148 3.1
Make someone remember a time from the past
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk bæk/
  • Informal
: llevar de vuelta a
  • Can you take me back to camp?

Oh, wow, wow, you're taking me back to the days.

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Examples

  • No matter how familiar her body became, touching her like this took him back to their first nights together.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "I listen to him tell of his wars, and it takes me back to mine."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I would also like to take it back to when I met you guys.

    Zane and Heath: UNFILTERED

  • Man, that sound of collecting the apple takes me straight back to my childhood.

  • The sudden tension took me back to that day in the dining room, years ago.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I think it is time for artists to take back control of our work and wares.

    Blog text (1)

  • Her book, "The Queen of Palmyra," takes us back to 1963 and a small southern town.

    Blog text (14)

  • The college-town atmosphere was appealing; it took me back to my days at Johns Hopkins.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • That song always takes me back to my high school days when we would sing it together.

  • Every time I see that old photograph, it takes me back to the summer vacations we spent at the beach.

Synonyms

to remind someone of
vsto take back
∞ 2.6

To make someone think of a person, place, or time from the past

is broader, prompting reflection on a past period rather than a specific cue
to bring back
vsto take back
143 3.0

Make someone remember something from the past

focuses on thinking about a whole past period rather than a single memory
to bring back memories
vsto take back
21 3.5

To make someone remember the past, for example a song or photo

is more general, causing thought about past times without necessarily evoking feelings
to hark back to
vsto take back
6 7.2

To mention or remember something from an earlier time

acts to make someone personally remember past times rather than just mention them
to roll back the years
vsto take back
  • Informal
6.9

Make someone feel young again when they remember the past

focuses on causing recollection of past times rather than producing a youthful feeling

Antonyms

to forget
∞ 1.0

Not remember something you should remember

to dismiss
332 3.0

To refuse to accept an idea or claim

How Evocative

to reawaken
10 5.1
to evoke
71 4.8
to take back
  • Informal
148 3.1
to remind
∞ 1.0
to mention
∞ 1.0

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 may come from the image of being carried back in time: a song or smell seems to take you back to a moment from your past, so it means 'to make someone remember'.