come back

What it means

To return to a place after leaving it, or to a person after being away. It can also mean to return to popularity, like a fashion trend, or to a topic in conversation.

Examples

• What time will you come back from work tonight?
• She came back to the office to grab her phone.
• Bell-bottom jeans seem to be coming back into fashion.
• Let's come back to that question after the break.

Where it comes from

Inseparable — no object goes between 'come' and 'back'. The choice between 'come back' and 'go back' depends on perspective: use 'come back' when the speaker is at the destination, 'go back' when they're not. So you say 'come back home' if you're at home, 'go back home' if you're elsewhere.

Related phrasal verbs