fight back

verb4

1. •
   To defend oneself by fighting.

   • The bully hadn't been expecting his victim to fight back, and now the bully has quadriplegia.
2. •
   To counterattack (counterstrike); to resist an attack or respond after one.

   • During the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. Navy began fighting back, and it wouldn't stop until August 1945.
3. •
   to repress; to struggle to repress.

   • fight back tears
   • She tried to fight back her laughter.
4. •
   To overturn a losing deficit.