roll back the years

verb

To produce a sense of nostalgia.

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Meanings

verbroll back the years (third-person singular simple present rolls back the years, present participle rolling back the years, simple past and past participle rolled back the years)

present singular third person rolls back the years · participle present rolling back the years · participle past rolled back the years · past rolled back the years

  1. idiomaticTo produce a sense of nostalgia.
  2. idiomatichobbiesTo demonstrate a performance later in life as good as in one's prime.

    Pires, a three-time Cup winner with Arsenal who scored the Gunners' winner against Southampton in the 2003 final, has been a largely peripheral figure at Villa Park since joining in November - but the 37-year-old rolled back the years with a fine finish from Delfouneso's knockdown.

    2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Aston Villa 3 - 1 Blackburn”, in BBC
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“roll back the years.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roll%20back%20the%20years. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “roll back the years,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/roll%20back%20the%20years.

Source: roll back the years on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.