phrasal verb · neutral
go back on
UK/ɡəʊ bæk ɒn/US/ɡoʊ bæk ɑn/go BACK on
speakingtask2
to fail to keep a promise or agreement; to renege on something
Examples
“He promised to help but then went back on his word.”
“The government must not go back on its commitments.”
“Companies that go back on warranties quickly lose customer trust.”
Band 8 sentence
“Voters are understandably furious when politicians go back on clear electoral promises.”
Collocations
- go back on a promise
- go back on commitments
Word family
go back on phrasal verbbreak a promise verb phrase
Common mistakes
He go back his promise.→He went back on his promise.
She broke her promise, she went back on it.→She broke her promise; she went back on it.
Say it for a higher band
5break a promise→6fail to keep→7+go back on
Synonyms
renege on
break a promise
Easily confused
renege on
“They reneged on the agreement after the financial crisis.”
Related words
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In go …
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