Word.ws English Dictionary

turn back the clock

turn back the clock verb: to return to a previous state.

Verb

turn back the clock (third-person singular simple present turns back the clock, present participle turning back the clock, simple past and past participle turned back the clock)

  1. (figuratively, idiomatic) To return to a previous state.
    • We had a terrible year so we agreed to turn back the clock and go on as if it hadn't happened.

Forms of turn back the clock

third-person singular presentturns back the clock
present participleturning back the clock
past participleturned back the clock
pastturned back the clock
alternative formturn the clocks back

Questions about turn back the clock

What does turn back the clock mean?
Turn back the clock means to return to a previous state.
What part of speech is turn back the clock?
Turn back the clock is a verb.
What is the past tense of turn back the clock?
The past tense of turn back the clock is turned back the clock.

Words near turn back the clock in the dictionary

  1. turn around one's finger
  2. turn arounds
  3. turn aside
  4. turn away
  5. turn back
  6. turn back the clock
  7. turn bench
  8. turn benches
  9. turn button
  10. turn buttons
  11. turn cap

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: turn back the clock (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-turn back the clock.ogg.

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