hark back
verb
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Hark Back Got Its Start in Hunting
Hark, a very old word meaning "to listen," was used as a cry in hunting. The master of the hunt might cry "Hark! Forward!" or "Hark! Back!" The cries became set phrases, both as nouns and verbs. Thus, a "hark back" was a retracing of a route by dogs and hunters, and to "hark back" was to turn back along the path. From its use in hunting, the verb acquired its current figurative meanings concerned with returning to the past. The variants hearken and harken (also very old words meaning "to listen") are also used, with and without back, as synonyms of hark back.
Examples of hark back in a Sentence
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
28 June 2026
The Joliet Area Historical Museum yesterday showed off the completion of a facade improvement project, with shop signage and neon signs that hark back to the original 1940s storefront.
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Chicago Tribune,
26 June 2026
Despite winning the World Cup and Euros, plus two Champions League titles, Deschamps hardly ever harks back to his playing days and instead stays reactive.
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Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
26 June 2026
Kantor’s career outlook, her office romance of ambition and fulfillment, harks back to the nineteen-eighties.
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Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for hark back
Cite this Entry
“Hark back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hark%20back. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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