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

In 2025, Peterson got political by hitting back at the current presidential administration. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2026

The Rays, though, hit back with DeLuca simply putting the ball in play, and Brewers third baseman David Hamilton throwing it away in the bottom of the fourth to allow Caminero to cross the plate for the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026

With the Jazz trailing 105-100, Sensabaugh and George hit back-to-back buckets to send the game into overtime. — ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026

Their Democratic rivals are hitting back, saying the efforts have either not gone far enough or are self-serving in the final weeks of the campaign. — David Hickey, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for hit back

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