hit back

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

Israeli defense officials warned Sunday that the country will hit back strongly if Iran attacks Israel. — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 20 July 2026

Steer and Eugenio Suárez hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning and Elly De La Cruz had three singles and a homer for the Reds. — ABC News, 17 July 2026

Ewing and Soto hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners for Lindor with no outs. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 11 July 2026

Algeria hit back with some assistance from the corner flag and excellent dribbling by Rafik Belghali. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 July 2026

Rhymes for hit back

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