引き返す
ひきかえす · hikikaesu · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to turn back
↩️ 引 (pull) + 返す (return) = pull yourself back the way you came
引き返す = 引く (pull) + 返す (give back, return). Think of pulling your own steps back in reverse along the same path.
引 — bow 弓 + vertical stroke 丨
A compound ideograph showing a bow 弓 with a vertical line 丨 representing the drawn bowstring. The original meaning was 'to draw a bow,' which extended to 'pull,' 'lead,' 'guide,' and 'cite.' The vertical stroke depicts the action of pulling the string back.