fight back

phrasal verb

fought back; fighting back; fights back

: to attack or try to defeat someone who is attacking or trying to defeat oneself

We can't just let them make these accusations against us. We need to fight back!

: to make a new effort against an opponent

They fell behind early in the game, but they were able to fight back and tie the score in the second half.

Examples of fight back in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

After suffering four excruciating defeats to begin its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal could have been swallowed up by deja vu when Wake Forest fought back to trail just 39-36 midway through the fourth quarter on Friday night. —

Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024 The big picture: Trump could try to undermine the press through some of those regulatory openings, but the U.S. court system has a strong track record of protecting First Amendment freedoms should a media firm fight back. —

Sara Fischer, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024 Most striking, of course, is when Catherine physically fights back. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Nov. 2024 Nelson didn't appear to be injured, and there wasn't any indication that the man fought back, according to the affidavit. —

Alex Sundby, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fight back