back to your roots

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiom

   Returning to the place, culture or family background you came from, or to the traditions of your ancestors.

   Grammar: Follows verbs like 'go', 'move' or 'come': 'She went back to her roots.' The possessive word changes with the person.

   Patterns

   • go back to your roots
   • move back to your roots
   • come back to your roots

   After twenty years in the city, he went back to his roots and bought a farm in the village where he grew up.

   The singer says her new album is about going back to her roots and singing in her first language.

   Many young people move back to their roots when they start a family.

2. 2phraseidiomfigurative

   Returning to the basic ideas or methods that something started with, especially in art, music or business.

   Grammar: Often used about a group or an artist rather than a place: 'The band went back to their roots.'

   Patterns

   • go back to your roots
   • return to your roots

   The band went back to their roots on this record, playing simple blues again.

   The company returned to its roots by making only the one product it began with.

Common combinations

go back to your roots

She went back to her roots and started teaching in her home town.

a trip back to your roots

They called the holiday a trip back to their roots.

return to your roots

After years abroad, he returned to his roots.

back to my roots

This song is me getting back to my roots.

deep roots

Her family has deep roots in that part of the country.

Synonyms and how they differ

return to your origins

More formal and less idiomatic; it suits essays and speeches better than everyday talk.

go home

Only about a physical place; it does not carry the idea of culture or family tradition.

reconnect with your heritage

Stresses learning about your culture rather than physically going there.

Opposites

Word family

roots noun

The place, family or culture you come from, as in 'He has roots in Ireland'.

rooted adjective

Strongly connected to a place or tradition, as in 'a deeply rooted custom'.

uprooted adjective

Forced to leave your home or background, the opposite feeling.

Commonly confused: back to your roots or grass roots? back to your roots or take root?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “back to your roots”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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