shoot back

present singular third person shoots back · participle present shooting back · participle past shot back · past shot back

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, back.
2. To give an abrupt response or retort.

   My dad shot back that he never understood why The Beatles were considered great artists.

   2009 July/August, Jacob Levenson, “Why John Lennon Matters”, in Columbia Journalism Review, archived from the original on 20 May 2017

   2 more examples

   The US president shot back that England had invented the game and it was like saying America was good at baseball.

   2011 August 19, “We're number one at cricket, David Cameron tells Obama”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2023

   "Do you think a girl in Afghanistan can now do what she wants?" I ask this poised teenager, expecting another burst of youthful enthusiasm. "Oh no, absolutely not," she shoots back, without a moment's hesitation.

   2014 December 8, Lyse Doucet, “The brave women fighting for Afghanistan's future”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022