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

This isn't the first time that the White House has hit back at The View over its comments. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Sep. 2025

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur hit back at Lewis Hamilton's claim regarding the team's tire choice costing him a spot in Q3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying. —Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025

Troy Johnston and Connor Norby hit back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth inning as the Miami Marlins held on to beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Saturday in the second of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas. —Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025

But with the original termination now reinstated, ACE has hit back in a matter that is set to hit court. —Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for hit back

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