go back to the drawing board

verb

To start again; to scrap a previous idea or plan and try again from the beginning.

“After the original plan failed miserably, they decided to go back to the drawing board and come up with something new.”

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Meanings

verbgo back to the drawing board (third-person singular simple present goes back to the drawing board, present participle going back to the drawing board, simple past went back to the drawing board, past participle gone back to the drawing board)

present singular third person goes back to the drawing board · participle present going back to the drawing board · past went back to the drawing board · participle past gone back to the drawing board

  1. idiomaticTo start again; to scrap a previous idea or plan and try again from the beginning.

    After the original plan failed miserably, they decided to go back to the drawing board and come up with something new.

Cite this entry
APA

go back to the drawing board. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20back%20to%20the%20drawing%20board

MLA

“go back to the drawing board.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20back%20to%20the%20drawing%20board. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go back to the drawing board,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20back%20to%20the%20drawing%20board.

Source: go back to the drawing board on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.