Meaning & use
fly back
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
To return to a place by plane, or by flying as a bird does.
Grammar: No object; often followed by to or from: fly back to London.
Patterns
- fly back to a place
- fly back from a place
We fly back to Chicago on Sunday morning.
The geese fly back north every spring.
She had to fly back early after the meeting was cancelled.
phrasephrasal verb
To move quickly back to a former position, especially by springing.
Grammar: No object; used for things that spring or are thrown: the door flew back.
Patterns
- fly back into place
The branch flew back and hit him on the arm.
When I let go, the spring flew back into place.
The door flew back when the wind caught it.
Word forms
| third person singular | flies back |
|---|---|
| past tense | flew back |
| past participle | flown back |
| -ing form | flying back |
Common combinations
- fly back home
- He flew back home for the holidays.
- fly back to the city
- She flew back to the city that night.
- fly back a day early
- They flew back a day early.
- fly back first class
- I flew back first class.
Synonyms and how they differ
- return
- This is more general and does not say how you travel.
- go back
- This does not say whether you travel by air.
- head home
- This is informal and stresses the destination as home.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: fly back or fly over?
fly back vs fly over
Fly over means pass above a place, while fly back means return to somewhere.
Practice
After the conference in Berlin, I will ___ to Toronto on Friday.
Choose one answer.
Fly back means to return to a place by plane, and Toronto is home. Fly over passes above, and the others suggest passing by or leaving.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fly back”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.