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

The Ascent fought back against the defending league champion Tampa Bay Sun in a prime-time Gainbridge Super League matchup, thrilling an energetic Charlotte crowd on a night when kickoff was pushed back roughly 30 minutes due to thunderstorms. —Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 7 Sep. 2025

But Apple is fighting back with iOS 26 to stop this working as Google might like. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

The dead communist doesn’t live to regret underestimating Manville’s character, but others will — albeit less for her capability than for her willingness to fight back. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025

New Mexico found themselves in a 17-0 hole midway through the second quarter, but fought back to trim the lead to 17-10 just before halftime. —Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for fight back

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