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Glite Dictionary
to see the back of

to see the back of

2 7.0
Feel happy when someone leaves or a bad thing ends
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : despedirse de
  • I'll be glad to see the back of you.
  • glad to see the back of

Examples

  • We were all happy to see the back of the construction work that had been disrupting our lives.

  • I'll bet you were glad to see the back of me.

    Grey Owl (1999)

  • Can't say we're too sorry to see the back of him.

    Little Sister (1992)

  • It'll be worth it to see the back of him.

    Gandhi (1982)

  • Well, thanks be to God, but 'tis a great day to see the back of them.

    The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

  • Colin was secretly pleased to see the back of Stan Wilson.

    Forgotten Silver (1997)

  • After weeks of arguing, I will be glad to see the back of this issue.

  • She sighed in relief when she finally got to see the back of her noisy neighbors.

Antonyms

to miss
∞ 1.0

To feel sad because someone or something is not there

to welcome
583 1.0

Greet someone in a friendly way when they arrive

How Glad

to see the back of
  • UK
2 7.0
delighted
228 1.0
relieved
125 1.0

Surface Forms

see the back of infinitive
seeing the back of present participle
sees the back of third person singular
saw the back of past
seen the back of past participle

Morphology

see + the + back + of

The phrase evokes the literal image of 'seeing someone's back' as they leave, so a learner who knows 'see' and 'back' can often infer the basic idea that someone or something has gone. However, the specific evaluative meaning—feeling glad or relieved that the person/thing has gone—and its idiomatic application to events (e.g., noises) are not fully predictable from the parts, so it requires some pragmatic/idiomatic knowledge.

Etymology

See the back of comes from the simple image of watching someone walk away, when you only see their back. So, it means to be glad that someone or something 'has gone' because they were unwelcome.