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 + at

The Senator hit back at his critics.

Examples of hit back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The former Pittsburgh Steeler then hit back Jemele Hill, calling her comment unfunny. Jemele Hill and Antonio Brown’s barbs arrive in the aftermath of Faraji’s explosive lawsuit. —

Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 7 Jan. 2025 The younger son of Beatles legend John Lennon has hit back at social media users after his comments about Elon Musk sparked insults. —

Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024 The president-elect’s team has hit back on those claims, which arose after Trump had first seemingly supported the 1,500-page bill until Musk and other allies openly criticized it. —

Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 20 Dec. 2024 Meta has hit back about being targeted in Apple’s complaint and says the iPhone maker is being anticompetitive. —

Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 19 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hit back