fight back

phrasal verb

fought back; fighting back; fights back

: to attack or try to defeat someone who is attacking or trying to defeat oneself

We can't just let them make these accusations against us. We need to fight back!

: to make a new effort against an opponent

They fell behind early in the game, but they were able to fight back and tie the score in the second half.

Examples of fight back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web French fought back against Tolbert, but the attack only ended when another person entered the restroom, police said. —

Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 28 May 2024 There is a keen awareness that survival — or at least survival as something other than a secondary, feeder competition — rests on finding a way to fight back. —

Rory Smith, New York Times, 17 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for fight back

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fight back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.