fight back

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

Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on CNN Sunday that Iran has been able to keep fighting back every time the US increases military pressure – and could probably do so again. — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026

Sikoa fought back and eventually hit a double clothesline on Fatu, taking both men down. — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

But Lewis, who provided Tuesday’s walk-off winner, fought back and grounded a 2-2 slider for a single up the middle to bring up Josh Bell. — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 31 July 2026

Trump’s spectrum of threats, for example, prompted Tehran to see the war in existential terms and maximally fight back. — Erik Lin-Greenberg, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026

Rhymes for fight back

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