hark back

verb

harked back; harking back; harks back

intransitive verb

1
: to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance
2
: to go back to something as an origin or source

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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.

Examples of hark back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The collection harked back to a 1970s bohemian archetype. Alice Pfeiffer, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The voluminous cargo pants harked back to a time when Ryan was sleepless in Seattle, while the politer versions of the new ankle boots could certainly have appealed to the preppy-leaning personal style of everyone’s favorite neurotic yet naughty nerd, Sally Albright. Alice Newbold, Glamour, 1 Mar. 2024 The tour harked back to experiences shared early in life by most budding musicians — their times at summer camps and college festivals, where players spend time in close quarters, often in lovely locales. Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press, 22 Feb. 2024 The talking animals hark back to our girl Cinderella. Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023 Indeed, Xi appears to be harking back to the Communist Party’s Marxist roots. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Trellises hark back to early 20th-century winter gardens, and the use of arched doorways and boiserie in certain rooms recall the town’s historic Moorish villa from the 19th century. John Wogan Juliet Izon Gisela Williams Lindsey Tramuta Julia Halperin Jameson Montgomery, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The menu is more approachable, and there’s a burger at the bar that harks back to the sumptuous carnivorousness of Mar’s restaurant before last, the Beatrice Inn, an over-the-top basement-level chophouse. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2024 The musical number harks back to 1952’s Singin’ in the Rain and 1951’s An American in Paris, with a broad flanking of Kens (including Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa) moving in sync, singing and sizzling with enough energy to power a major American city. Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hark back.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hark back was in 1824

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Dictionary Entries Near hark back

Cite this Entry

“Hark back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hark%20back. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hark back

verb
: to recall or cause to recall something earlier
hark back to the good old days

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