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

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

The automotive-grade carbon fiber seating in the dining area harks back to Carlo Bugatti’s 1902 Cobra Chair. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2025

The film harks back to Hong Kong action cinema’s golden age, spotlighting authentic martial arts and hand-to-hand combat performed by an international roster of elite fighters. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025

Still, a vibrant, distinctive local food culture exists in its waste-not philosophy from times when meat was scarce, its reliance on seasonal produce from neighborhood markets, and its ingredients and techniques that hark back to the Ottoman era. —Katherine Whittaker, Saveur, 9 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