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 acquired its current figurative meanings concerned with returning to the past. 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

The conservative assault on women’s reproductive rights harks back to the time before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 brought about universal suffrage. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

This 18-guest, 196-foot charter-first dahabiya is distinctive, too, in that Kazazian’s aesthetic doesn’t hark back to those Imperial days, but instead nods more to the slick, white interiors of a contemporary superyacht. — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 23 July 2026

The sliding rear window is a nice touch and harks back to the latest Toyota 4Runner, a vehicle the R2 will be cross-shopped against. — Greg Migliore, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

The salon-style hang echoes those recently presented at the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain and harks back to a style popularized at the eighteenth-century Paris Salon and later favored in the Victorian era. — News Desk, Artforum, 10 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hark back

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

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Kids Definition

hark back

verb

: to recall or cause to recall something earlier

hark back to the good old days