count back

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To say numbers in reverse order, going from a higher number down to a lower one.

   Grammar: No object is needed when the numbers are understood: Count back from ten. The starting point often follows 'from'.

   Patterns

   • count back from a number
   • count back to a number

   The teacher asked the class to count back from twenty to one.

   Close your eyes and count back from ten, then open them.

   He counted back slowly, checking each number as he went.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitive

   To move backward a certain number of steps or places while counting.

   Grammar: The number of steps can come after 'back' or after the object: count back three or count three back.

   Patterns

   • count back a number of steps
   • count back from something

   Count back four squares and you will land on the treasure.

   She counted back three steps from the edge of the stage.

   If you count back two places from the last letter, you get the answer.

3. 3verbtransitive or intransitive

   To calculate an earlier date or time by moving backward from a known point.

   Grammar: Often followed by 'from' to show the starting point: count back six weeks from today.

   Patterns

   • count back a period from a date
   • count back from something

   If you count back nine months from the birth, you get the likely start of the pregnancy.

   The historian counted back from the famous battle to date the earlier event.

   Count back two weeks from the deadline to see when we should begin.

Word forms

Common combinations

count back from ten

The children counted back from ten before the rocket launch.

count back to one

Start at fifty and count back to one.

count back three places

Count back three places in the list to find your name.

count back the weeks

She counted back the weeks to work out when the project started.

Synonyms and how they differ

count backward

The usual American phrasing; it means the same but is not a phrasal verb with 'back' as a particle.

count down

This means counting toward an exciting moment such as a launch, while 'count back' is simply going in reverse order.

go back

This is about moving or returning, not about saying numbers, so it fits only the physical movement sense loosely.

Opposites

Word family

countdown noun

The act of counting backward to an important moment.

count verb

To say numbers in order or find how many there are.

recount verb

To count something again, often votes.

Commonly confused: count back or countdown?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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