return fire
noun
: the firing of a weapon to counter a shooter's shot
The suspect started shooting and was wounded by the return fire of the police.
Examples of return fire in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
By Israel’s account, the destruction began after Hamas gunmen refused to surrender and started shooting at the Israeli forces, prompting them to return fire.
—
Patrick Kingsley Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
This strategy was employed by SWAT to return fire, retreat from the residence, and deploy nonlethal options.
—The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2024
Officers did not return fire and the suspect was arrested, White said.
—Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2024
We are forced to return fire at military facilities in the border regions!
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
No, the Russians would use the T-55s and hundreds of other restored obsolete tanks as crude howitzers: position them under cover many miles from the front, angle their guns high in the air and fire at the Ukrainians without risking direct return fire.
—David Axe, Forbes, 9 Feb. 2024
The officer did not return fire, police said, because the streets were packed with pedestrians.
—Rob Frehse, CNN, 10 Feb. 2024
Incidents were excluded from the total if no officers fired a bullet that struck someone, such as accidental discharges with no injuries or the few cases in which officers did not return fire after a suspect fired.
—Adiel Kaplan, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023
According to the state’s attorney, the video shows the officers firing their weapons before taking return fire.
—Jennifer Henderson, CNN, 29 Sep. 2023
Patrick Kingsley Avishag Shaar-Yashuv, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
This strategy was employed by SWAT to return fire, retreat from the residence, and deploy nonlethal options.
—The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2024
Officers did not return fire and the suspect was arrested, White said.
—Andrea May Sahouri, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2024
We are forced to return fire at military facilities in the border regions!
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
No, the Russians would use the T-55s and hundreds of other restored obsolete tanks as crude howitzers: position them under cover many miles from the front, angle their guns high in the air and fire at the Ukrainians without risking direct return fire.
—David Axe, Forbes, 9 Feb. 2024
The officer did not return fire, police said, because the streets were packed with pedestrians.
—Rob Frehse, CNN, 10 Feb. 2024
Incidents were excluded from the total if no officers fired a bullet that struck someone, such as accidental discharges with no injuries or the few cases in which officers did not return fire after a suspect fired.
—Adiel Kaplan, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2023
According to the state’s attorney, the video shows the officers firing their weapons before taking return fire.
—Jennifer Henderson, CNN, 29 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'return fire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near return fire
Cite this Entry
“Return fire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/return%20fire. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share