If you move back, you move in the opposite direction to the one in which you are facing or in which you were moving before.

If you go back somewhere, you return to where you were before.

If someone or something is back in a particular state, they were in that state before and are now in it again.

If you give or put something back, you return it to the person who had it or to the place where it was before you took it. If you get or take something back, you then have it again after not having it for a while.

If you put a clock or watch back, you change the time shown on it so that it shows an earlier time, for example when the time changes to winter time or standard time.

If you write or call back, you write to or telephone someone after they have written to or telephoned you. If you look back at someone, you look at them after they have started looking at you.

You can say that you go or come back to a particular point in a conversation to show that you are mentioning or discussing it again.

If something is or comes back, it is fashionable again after it has been unfashionable for some time.

If someone or something is kept or situated back from a place, they are at a distance away from it.

If something is held or tied back, it is held or tied so that it does not hang loosely over something.

If you lie or sit back, you move your body backwards into a relaxed sloping or flat position, with your head and body resting on something.

If you look or shout back at someone or something, you turn to look or shout at them when they are behind you.

You use back in expressions like back in London or back at the house when you are giving an account, to show that you are going to start talking about what happened or was happening in the place you mention.

If you talk about something that happened back in the past or several years back, you are emphasizing that it happened quite a long time ago.

If you think back to something that happened in the past, you remember it or try to remember it.

A person's or animal's back is the part of their body between their head and their legs that is on the opposite side to their chest and stomach.

The back of something is the side or part of it that is towards the rear or farthest from the front. The back of something is normally not used or seen as much as the front.

Back is used to refer to the side or part of something that is towards the rear or farthest from the front.

The back of a chair or sofa is the part that you lean against when you sit on it.

The back of something such as a piece of paper or an envelope is the side which is less important.

The back of a book is the part nearest the end, where you can find the index or the notes, for example.

You can use back in expressions such as round the back and out the back to refer generally to the area behind a house or other building.

You use back in expressions such as out back to refer to the area behind a house or other building. You also use in back to refer to the rear part of something, especially a car or building.

In team games such as football and hockey, a back is a player who is concerned mainly with preventing the other team from scoring goals, rather than scoring goals for their own team.

In American football, a back is a player who stands behind the front line, runs with the ball and attacks rather than defends.

If two or more things are done back to back, one follows immediately after the other without any interruption.

If a building backs onto something, the back of it faces in the direction of that thing or touches the edge of that thing.

When you back a car or other vehicle somewhere or when it backs somewhere, it moves backwards.

If you back a person or a course of action, you support them, for example by voting for them or giving them money.

If you back a particular person, team, or horse in a competition, you predict that they will win, and usually you bet money that they will win.

If a singer is backed by a band or by other singers, they provide the musical background for the singer.