hark back

British  

verb

1. (intr, adverb) to return to an earlier subject, point, or position, as in speech or thought

---

hark back Idioms  

1. Return to a previous point, as in Let us hark back briefly to my first statement. This expression originally alluded to hounds retracing their course when they have lost their quarry's scent. It may be dying out. [First half of 1800s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hark back

Indisputably, there are signs—some of which hark back to the dot-com era—that it is.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

The commuters in “Le Métro” hark back to his early streetcar scenes but now there’s an air of mystery to the straphangers, with the central figure’s face obscured and bisected by a subway pole.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

The 11 songs on the album bridge storytelling with classic country and folk sounds that hark back to the ‘70s, a la songs like the Eagles’ “Wasted Time.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025

These hark back to the 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt in Lewes during the reign of Bloody Mary, half a century before Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2024

Sometimes in public, hearing a stranger, I’d hark back to my past.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Related Words

• degenerate
• go back
• react
• regress
• turn back