take back — evoke memories
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
to cause someone to remember or feel as if they are in a time in the past, often because of a particular sight, sound, or smell.
Say it like a native
Textbook That song evokes vivid recollections of my childhood.
Native That song really takes me back.
'Take someone back' is the warm, idiomatic way to talk about a rush of nostalgia.
Pattern: take (someone) back (to [time/place])
In use
- The smell of freshly baked bread always takes me back to my grandmother's kitchen.memory
- Hearing traditional music can take people back to their cultural roots and evoke a strong sense of identity.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ This photo takes back me to school.
✓ This photo takes me back to school.
The person goes in the middle: 'takes me back'.
Common collocations
take back + memory— to my childhood, to the old days, years, right back
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense of physically returning an item or the B2 sense of retracting words, this sense is figurative and refers to memories or feelings being brought back by something.
Related
- take back (return an item) — 'take back' also has the more basic meaning 'return an item'; this is the advanced sense.