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 + at

He angrily struck back at his critics.

Examples of strike back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Trudeau struck back, saying Canada accounts for less than 1% of fentanyl and fewer than 1% of migrants entering the U.S. illegally. —

Kate Linthicum and Denis Calnan Los Angeles Times (tns), arkansasonline.com, 16 Feb. 2025 Minnelli struck back with a $2 million suit claiming Gest had stolen money from her. —

Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025 Image Beijing was swift to retaliate after Trump’s tariffs China struck back yesterday against President Trump’s 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese products with tariffs of its own on U.S. coal and gas, as well as restrictions on exports of some minerals. —

Natasha Frost, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2025 After the 1946 midterm elections, congressional Republicans struck back at the New Deal. —

Colin Gordon, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for strike back