hark back

verb

harked back; harking back; harks back

intransitive verb

1

: to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance

harked back to his youth

2

: to go back to something as an origin or source

a style that harks back to the turn of the century

Did you know?

Hark Back Got Its Start in Hunting

Hark, a very old word meaning "to listen," was used as a cry in hunting. The master of the hunt might cry "Hark! Forward!" or "Hark! Back!" The cries became set phrases, both as nouns and verbs. Thus, a "hark back" was a retracing of a route by dogs and hunters, and to "hark back" was to turn back along the path. From its use in hunting, the verb soon acquired its current figurative meanings. The variants hearken and harken (also very old words meaning “to listen”) are also used, with and without back, as synonyms of hark back.

Synonyms of hark back

• remember
• recall

Examples of hark back in a Sentence

the new stadium, designed for nostalgic appeal, harks back to the intimate ballparks of yore

Recent Examples on the Web

Billed as the end of the Chicago rapper’s Lil Herb era, the project harks back to his early sound with production from fellow Chicagoans No ID, Chase Davis, Oz on the Track, and C-Sick, as well as frequent collaborators Don Cannon, Southside, and Smatt. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 7 Nov. 2025

Likely the work of hair artist Lorenzo Posocco, the highlight harked back to two early 2000s beauty trends that have recently resurfaced amid wider Y2K nostalgia, namely foxtail hair and calico coloring. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 7 Nov. 2025

Leshem has previously spoken to us about how the first international co-pro backed by Peter Chernin’s North Road harks back to his time as an investigative journalist when he was assigned to a story in a juvenile prison. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2025

At the same time, social media has served as a reinvigorated source of transparency in recent weeks, harking back to the days when Twitter became an organizing tool during the Arab Spring, in the early twenty-tens, or when Facebook and Instagram helped fuel the Black Lives Matter marches of 2020. —Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hark back

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

Kids Definition

hark back

verb

: to recall or cause to recall something earlier

hark back to the good old days