From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfight back phrasal verb1 PREVENTto work hard to achieve or oppose something, especially in a situation where you are losing United fought back and scored a last-minute goal. against She was fighting back against the cancer.2 FIGHT FOR OR AGAINST somethingto use violence or arguments against someone who has attacked you or argued with you The rebels are fighting back.3 fight something ↔ back to try hard not to have or show a feeling She looked away, fighting back her tears. He fought back the impulse to slap her. → fight→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
fight back• Wallowing in self-pity instead of fighting back.• This nation has been oppressed for too long, and it's time we fought back.• A tale of a woman fighting back?• Now the tire companies have fought back.• The locals in Costilla County are also trying to fight back.• It has taken Oregon eight minutes to fight back from a ten-point deficit.• You must fight back if you become a victim of discrimination.• Those are some of the things unions need to do to put the fight back in people.• Three times Oregon fights back to within nine.• Children are often powerless to fight back when they are treated unfairly. 