1 B1 neutral
To defend yourself physically or verbally against someone who is attacking you; to retaliate.
"When the bullies pushed him, he finally decided to fight back."
fight back
B1 neutral intransitive
To defend yourself by attacking or opposing someone who has attacked you, or to struggle to suppress an emotion.
In plain English
To fight or argue against someone who is attacking you, or to try to stop yourself from crying or feeling something.
What does "fight back" mean?
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic neutral
To struggle to control or suppress an emotion such as tears, laughter, or anger.
"She fought back tears as she read her father's letter aloud."
3 B1 idiomatic neutral
To recover from a losing position in a competition or sports match.
"Down by two goals, the team fought back brilliantly to draw level."
4 B2 idiomatic neutral
To oppose or resist a force, system, or institution that one considers unjust.
"Citizens began to fight back against the new austerity measures."
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To fight in the direction back (towards the attacker).
Actually means
To fight or argue against someone who is attacking you, or to try to stop yourself from crying or feeling something.
Usage tip
Very versatile. Used in physical confrontations, emotional contexts (fighting back tears), sports (fighting back from a deficit), and political/social contexts (fighting back against injustice). Always intransitive — no direct object follows 'fight back'.
Words that pair with "fight back"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
tears anger emotion attacker score opponent
How to conjugate "fight back"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
fight back
I/you/we/they
3rd person
fights back
he/she/it
Past simple
fought back
yesterday
Past participle
fought back
have + pp
-ing form
fighting back
continuous
Hear "fight back" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "fight back" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.