hark-back

UK/ˈhɑːkbæk/US/ˈhɑɹkˌbæk/

noun

An act of hounds retracing a course in order to pick up the lost scent of prey.

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Meanings

nounhark-back (plural hark-backs)

plural hark-backs · alternative hark back

  1. hobbiesAn act of hounds retracing a course in order to pick up the lost scent of prey.
  2. figurativelyAn act of alluding, returning, or reverting (to a subject previously mentioned, etc.); also, an act of evoking, or longing or pining for (a past era or event).

    The addendum cancelling the closures refers to 14 pages […] in which Table 183 is reproduced in its old form with connections to and from Liverpool, Bradford, York, Edinburgh etc. – a hark-back to G.C. ambitions.

    1961 June, “Talking of Trains: Early Timetables – but at a Price”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 325

    Synonyms: callback

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn act of alluding, returning, or reverting (to a subject previously mentioned, etc.); also, an act of evoking, or longing or pining for (a past era or event).

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Also see

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

hark-back. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hark-back

MLA

“hark-back.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hark-back. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hark-back,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hark-back.

Source: hark-back on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.