idiom · informal
go back a long way
UK/ɡəʊ bæk ə lɒŋ weɪ/US/ɡoʊ bæk ə lɔːŋ weɪ/go·BACK·a·LONG·way
to have known someone for a long time
Examples
“My parents and her parents go back a long way — they were neighbours.”
“Tom and I go back a long way; we grew up in the same town.”
“They go back a long way, which is why they understand each other so well.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although we work in different fields now, Claire and I go back a long way, and that shared history makes collaboration seamless.”
Collocations
- go back a long way with someone
- go back years
Word family
Common mistakes
go back a long time→go back a long way
go back long time→go back a long way
Say it for a higher band
5have known for years→6be old friends→7+go back a long way
Synonyms
have known for years
be old friends
Easily confused
go back years
“We go back a long way — our families have been friends for decades.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Relationships
Learn it with its set