strike back
phrasal verb
struck back; struck back also stricken back; striking back; strikes back
: to try to hurt someone who has hurt one or treated one badly
When he called her lazy, she immediately struck back by calling him fat.
—often + atHe angrily struck back at his critics.
Examples of strike back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But when fans grew subdued, Bay struck back, courtesy of a header from Zambia striker Racheal Kundananji just before halftime.
—
Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
After a series of setbacks and confrontations with a system stacked against him, Reuben strikes back at the police and government that forgot him.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
That hasn’t stopped the trillion-dollar education empire from striking back at school choice programs.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 14 Aug. 2025
Iran’s leading afternoon newspaper, Etalaat, struck back with an accusatory editorial, prepared by the government and likely at the Shah’s behest.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strike back
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Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2025
After a series of setbacks and confrontations with a system stacked against him, Reuben strikes back at the police and government that forgot him.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
That hasn’t stopped the trillion-dollar education empire from striking back at school choice programs.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 14 Aug. 2025
Iran’s leading afternoon newspaper, Etalaat, struck back with an accusatory editorial, prepared by the government and likely at the Shah’s behest.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strike back
Cite this Entry
“Strike back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strike%20back. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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