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

As North Koreans continue to infiltrate companies by securing remote IT jobs, a pair of cybersecurity researchers hit back by creating a fake startup to trap them and monitor their activities. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026

But that’s not what made the duchess decide to hit back publicly by having an anonymous member of her team leak a statement to People and other media outlets. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026

The United States refrained from hitting back against Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors, and in February 1984, Reagan withdrew American forces altogether. — Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2026

Within hours, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), European football’s governing body, hit back. — Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for hit back

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