stretch back intransitive verb ① (in time) 回溯 huísù ▸ this tradition stretches back (for) centuries 这个传统可以回溯到几个世纪前 ▸ to stretch back to sb/sth; 回溯到某人/某事物 ② (in space) 往后延伸 wǎng hòu yánshēn ▸ to stretch back to sth; 向后延伸至某物 ▸ the traffic jam stretches back to the motorway 交通拥堵的车流到了高速公路 |