hearken back

verb

variants or harken back
hearkened back or harkened back; hearkening back or harkening back; hearkens back or harkens back

intransitive verb

: to go back to or recall to mind something in the past : hark back
usually used with to
This place caters to Americans and hearkens back to days when the town attracted famous celebrities.Barbara Zaragoza
Greenberg worked very closely with the laboratory which harkened back to his earliest days in the film business …Ron Magid

Examples of hearken back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The case also hearkened back to New York City’s troubling history with subway vigilantism, drawing comparisons to Bernie Goetz. Victoria Bekiempis, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2024 Losing Alonso would hearken back to the Mets trading Tom Seaver. Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2024 The existence of the list hearkens back to the department's controversial history with surveilling activists. Violet Ikonomova, Detroit Free Press, 17 Sep. 2024 The latest version of the FOX Box has been used since Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles and still hearkens back to Hill’s clever idea. Jeff Fedotin, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hearken back 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hearken 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

1900, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hearken back was in 1900

Dictionary Entries Near hearken back

Cite this Entry

“Hearken back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hearken%20back. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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