From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgive something ↔ back phrasal verb1 GIVEto give something to the person it belongs to or the person who gave it to you This isn’t your money and you must give it back. Of course you can have a look at it, as long as you give it back.give something back to somebody I’ll give the keys back to you tomorrow morning.give somebody something ↔ back Her ex-husband refused to give her back any of her old photos and letters.2 GIVEto make it possible for someone to have or do something again SYN restoregive somebody something ↔ back He underwent an expensive operation to give him back his sight. The company finally agreed to give the women their old jobs back.give something back to somebody This legislation will give more power back to local authorities. → give→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
give back• Belfast proved worthy opponents, attacking tenaciously and not giving at the back.• He didn't mean any harm, he just wanted to give them back.• Now he is giving something back.• We try to give something back.• He simply could not remember in the end whether Miss Harker had given it back or not.• She said Payson police were given evidence to back that allegation, but they never filed charges.• The landlord then relented in part and gave her back the keys to the bedsit.• When Carolina gave it back to him, packed and tied, she had already placed it in the two shopping bags.give something back to somebody• Were they nudging a temperament given to extremes back to the middle?• Terese say give it right back to her.• They begin to give the colour back to Isaac's cheeks, but they are as far as the storyteller will go.• At the end of class, I fled before he could turn around and give it back to me.• Will you give this money back to Rich for me?• Roughly seizing Tarantula, they stripped off his bright clothing and gave it back to Swift-Runner.• An intergovernmental conference on giving the games back to the people would be a start.• It's our turn now to give life back to whales and dolphins.• Soon, they give the job back to you.give something back to somebody• Were they nudging a temperament given to extremes back to the middle?• Terese say give it right back to her.• They begin to give the colour back to Isaac's cheeks, but they are as far as the storyteller will go.• At the end of class, I fled before he could turn around and give it back to me.• Roughly seizing Tarantula, they stripped off his bright clothing and gave it back to Swift-Runner.• An intergovernmental conference on giving the games back to the people would be a start.• It's our turn now to give life back to whales and dolphins.• Soon, they give the job back to you. 