All phrasal verbs
back
/bæk/19 verbsSomething returns to where it was, or is held in reserve.
BACK is the return particle: give back, call back, come back, pay back all restore an earlier state.
Its second sense is restraint — hold back, cut back — where you keep something from moving forward.
What it does to the sound
BACK starts with /b/, so the verb's final stop is unreleased and the two words fuse: bring back has no audible gap and no puff of air after the /ŋ/.
What BACK means
Returning — restore an earlier state
Something goes to where it came from.
Restraining — hold in reserve
Progress or emotion is deliberately checked.
Retreating — withdraw from a position
You give ground, literally or in an argument.
back downfall backstand backback off
Every verb that takes BACK
The complete list — 19 of them. The section above groups the common ones by what BACK is doing.