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
An exploited worker at an Arkansas chicken plant strikes back with a kidnapping, which leads to other brutal events in Edgar winner Cranor's crime thriller.
—
Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 15 May 2024
After the Broncos evened the game in the fifth inning, SDSU struck back, scoring a pair of runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-2 lead.
—U-T News Services, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024
But the 2023 World Series champs struck back with a 15-4 victory on Saturday night.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 May 2024
Israelis understand that their country’s long-term survival depends on reasserting deterrence by striking back: displaying resilience, determination, and military prowess.
—Elliott Abrams, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2024
Surely the world would understand the legitimacy of Israel striking back.
—Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Kyiv struck back, destroying over a dozen of Russia's ships over the following months.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2024
Down 10-3, the Texans struck back on special teams.
—Noah Trister, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Stoner artists struck back hard at prohibition and provided the soundtrack activists needed to get weed legal.
—Andrew Deangelo, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 15 May 2024
After the Broncos evened the game in the fifth inning, SDSU struck back, scoring a pair of runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-2 lead.
—U-T News Services, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 May 2024
But the 2023 World Series champs struck back with a 15-4 victory on Saturday night.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 May 2024
Israelis understand that their country’s long-term survival depends on reasserting deterrence by striking back: displaying resilience, determination, and military prowess.
—Elliott Abrams, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2024
Surely the world would understand the legitimacy of Israel striking back.
—Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Kyiv struck back, destroying over a dozen of Russia's ships over the following months.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2024
Down 10-3, the Texans struck back on special teams.
—Noah Trister, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024
Stoner artists struck back hard at prohibition and provided the soundtrack activists needed to get weed legal.
—Andrew Deangelo, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'strike 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 strike back
Cite this Entry
“Strike back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strike%20back. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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