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 + atThe Senator hit back at his critics.
Examples of hit back in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Netanyahu hit back yesterday against growing criticism of his leadership from senior American lawmakers.
—
NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
OpenAI hit back at Elon Musk in a blog post published on its site Tuesday, responding to a lawsuit by one of its co-founders and former benefactors.
—Rachel Metz, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
Queen sends a pair of hits back to the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart this week.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Rather, that obstacle is the Israeli public, gripped by collective trauma and unready – perhaps unable – to look beyond their own pain, the fate of the hostages still in Gaza, and the need to hit back hard in response to the Hamas attack.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024
In a post on X, Baldwin also hit back at Stone for bringing up their difficult relationship.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
Apple hit back at Spotify in a statement posted to its website.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024
And does Trump seriously think China won’t hit back?
—William Pesek, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
That led to Meghan McCain, John McCain’s daughter, to hit back at Lake on social media and an interview of her own.
—Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024
NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
OpenAI hit back at Elon Musk in a blog post published on its site Tuesday, responding to a lawsuit by one of its co-founders and former benefactors.
—Rachel Metz, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
Queen sends a pair of hits back to the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart this week.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Rather, that obstacle is the Israeli public, gripped by collective trauma and unready – perhaps unable – to look beyond their own pain, the fate of the hostages still in Gaza, and the need to hit back hard in response to the Hamas attack.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024
In a post on X, Baldwin also hit back at Stone for bringing up their difficult relationship.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024
Apple hit back at Spotify in a statement posted to its website.
—Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024
And does Trump seriously think China won’t hit back?
—William Pesek, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
That led to Meghan McCain, John McCain’s daughter, to hit back at Lake on social media and an interview of her own.
—Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hit back.' 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 hit back
Cite this Entry
“Hit back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit%20back. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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