fight back

phrasal verb

fought back; fighting back; fights back

1

: 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!

2

: 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

Valentino, 82, alleged Cosby drove her to a nearby office and raped her while she was too immobilized to fight back. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025

Tole, who was allegedly thrown into a wall and on the ground, fought back with pepper spray and eventually a knife in self-defense, per the local news station. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025

Worse yet, they’re being constructed in communities with the fewest resources and power to fight back. —Donnetta Monk, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025

To fight back, stay informed through credible sources such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Psychiatric Association. —Catherine Birndorf, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for fight back

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback