put the clock back

verb

To change the time in a time zone to an earlier time, e.g. for the end of daylight saving time.

“He wants to turn the clock back to the 1950s.”

Similar
turn back the clockturn the clocks back
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Meanings

verbput the clock back (third-person singular simple present puts the clock back, present participle putting the clock back, simple past and past participle put the clock back)

present singular third person puts the clock back · participle present putting the clock back · alternative put the clocks back

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo change the time in a time zone to an earlier time, e.g. for the end of daylight saving time.

    Don't forget that this Sunday we put the clocks back an hour.

  2. idiomaticintransitiveTo put something back to the state it was in a previous era.

    He wants to turn the clock back to the 1950s.

    Synonyms: turn back the clock, turn the clocks back

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo put something back to the state it was in a previous era.

Similar
turn back the clockturn the clocks back
Cite this entry
APA

put the clock back. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20clock%20back

MLA

“put the clock back.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20clock%20back. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put the clock back,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20the%20clock%20back.

Source: put the clock back on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.