From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstrike back phrasal verbATTACKto attack or criticize someone who attacked or criticized you first We instruct our staff never to strike back, however angry they feel. at The prime minister immediately struck back at his critics. → strike→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
strike back• Accidentally, obliquely, the squadron had found this way of striking back.• But then Bath, equally obdurate, struck back.• Last Friday, Dole struck back.• Left-wing guerrillas think their cause worth killing for, and better-armed right-wingers strike back.• Southerners struck back against such efforts to enforce equality.• Ahab confesses his deep, burning, tormenting desire to strike back at the creature who took his leg from him.• He struck back with a knife which fell in the struggle from his chest of drawers.strike at• Whittle struck back at critics of his educational policies. 