hit back

phrasal verb

hit back; hitting back; hits back

informal

: to attack or criticize someone after being attacked or criticized by them

Weary of her rival's accusations, the candidate hit back with an aggressive ad campaign.

The team hit back with a touchdown of their own.

—often + at

The Senator hit back at his critics.

Examples of hit back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ball hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the third quarter. —Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026

Charlton hit back through Miles Leaburn’s 57th-minute goal, but Marc Guiu swiftly replied and substitutes Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez put the gloss on the scoreline in stoppage time. —Cerys Jones, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026

Clinton Toomer had a putback; Brown hit back to back shots and the Warriors hung on to win. —Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 10 Jan. 2026

Suzy Welch, a best-selling author and professor of management practice at New York University, hit back against those who brand the young generation lazy by reminiscing on her career journey. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for hit back

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