Word.ws English Dictionary

go-backs

go-backs is the plural of go-back.

Meaning of go-back

Noun

go-back (plural go-backs)

  1. An item of merchandise that needs to be returned to a shelf or rack, for example because a customer has decided not to purchase it or has brought it back for an exchange.
    Synonyms:
    put-back

Noun

go-backs pl (plural only)

  1. (US, dated, plural, plural-only) A supposed disease of children causing weight loss and lack of growth.
    • The scales are not yet asked to give a casting vote, but the gap between the growth which mother wants and that which baby yields seems to widen, and the reason becomes more and more mysterious until some wiser dame whispers the dreaded words: "It has the Go-backs," and others echo, "It has the...1892, Journal of American Folklore, volume 5, page 108
    • If the length of the string is an exact multiple of the length of the foot, nothing is wrong, but if there is a remainder, however small, the baby has the Go-backs, and the extent of the malady is proportional to this remainder.1994, Nancy Sullivan, A treasury of American folklore: our customs, beliefs, and traditions

Questions about go-backs

What does go-backs mean?
Go-backs means a supposed disease of children causing weight loss and lack of growth.
What is go-backs the plural of?
Go-backs is the plural of go-back.
What part of speech is go-backs?
Go-backs is a noun.

Words near go-backs in the dictionary

  1. go-away bird
  2. go-away birds
  3. go-away-bird
  4. go-away-birds
  5. go-back
  6. go-backs
  7. go-bag
  8. go-between
  9. go-betweens
  10. go-by
  11. go-bys

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: go-backs (page history and authors); go-back (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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