hark back

verb

harked back; harking back; harks back

: to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance

: to go back to something as an origin or source

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Hark Back Got Its Start in Hunting

Hark, a very old word meaning "to listen," was used as a cry in hunting. The master of the hunt might cry "Hark! Forward!" or "Hark! Back!" The cries became set phrases, both as nouns and verbs. Thus, a "hark back" was a retracing of a route by dogs and hunters, and to "hark back" was to turn back along the path. From its use in hunting, the verb soon acquired its current figurative meanings. The variants hearken and harken (also very old words meaning “to listen”) are also used, with and without back, as synonyms of hark back.

Examples of hark back in a Sentence

the new stadium, designed for nostalgic appeal, harks back to the intimate ballparks of yore

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Built-in wall safes hark back to Depression-era times. —

Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 30 Jan. 2025 Trying to break up Google harks back to a similar punishment initially imposed on Microsoft a quarter-century ago after another major antitrust trial that culminated in a federal judge deciding the software maker had illegally used its Windows operating system for PCs to stifle competition. —

Michael Liedtke, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024 Even in the first century C.E., when the statue took its complete form, Romans were harking back to an immemorial Greece. —

Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025 While the 2022 reissue in yellow gold was undoubtedly opulent, the steel version harks back to the ethos of the original 222. —

Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for hark back