hit back
phrasal verb
hit back; hitting back; hits back
informal
: to attack or criticize someone after being attacked or criticized by them
Weary of her rival's accusations, the candidate hit back with an aggressive ad campaign.
The team hit back with a touchdown of their own.
—often + atThe Senator hit back at his critics.
Examples of hit back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Atienza took the post down and withdrew from social media for a time but hit back in subsequent posts at suggestions that her family’s wealth derived from its political connections on her father’s side.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
Though a hit back home, My Best Friend didn’t travel much beyond Greece and rarely shows up in retrospectives of the director’s work, like the one Lincoln Center put together back in 2019.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Trump on Tuesday hit back at criticism from cattle farmers.
—Colin Meyn, The Hill, 24 Oct. 2025
After trailing the Seattle Mariners 2-0 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Toronto Blue Jays have hit back by outscoring the Mariners 21-6 across Games 3 and 4 to tie the series.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hit back
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
Though a hit back home, My Best Friend didn’t travel much beyond Greece and rarely shows up in retrospectives of the director’s work, like the one Lincoln Center put together back in 2019.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Trump on Tuesday hit back at criticism from cattle farmers.
—Colin Meyn, The Hill, 24 Oct. 2025
After trailing the Seattle Mariners 2-0 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), the Toronto Blue Jays have hit back by outscoring the Mariners 21-6 across Games 3 and 4 to tie the series.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hit back
Cite this Entry
“Hit back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit%20back. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share