hark back
/ˌhɑːk ˈbæk/
"hark-back" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hark back” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of hounds: to retrace a course in order to pick up the lost scent of prey.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hark-back · hark back · English
hark back · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hark back |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˌhɑːk ˈbæk/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hark back” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hark back is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌhɑːk ˈbæk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
hark back has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From hark (“to listen attentively”) + back (“to or in a previous condition or place”, adverb), originally a hunting command to hounds meaning “Listen! Go back!”. The correct English form is hark back, spelled H-A-R-K- -B-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1Of hounds: to retrace a course in order to pick up the lost scent of prey.
- 2To return to where one has previously been; to retrace one's steps.
- 3To allude, return, or revert (to a subject previously mentioned, etc.); also, to evoke, or long or pine for (a past era or event).
- 4To call back (hounds); to recall.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hark back appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He must have overshot the mark, and must hark back. So he turned his weary horse's head, and made his way back along the road to the spot where his spoor struck into it.
Mr. Flemyng, who had been assuaging his thirst with more champagne during the afternoon, had harked back to the subject of his morning's discourse, and was laying down an authoritative scheme of ethics, in the course of which sundry hard words, such as transcendentalism, pseudo-materialism and the like, lost a syllable here and there.
Etymology
From hark (“to listen attentively”) + back (“to or in a previous condition or place”, adverb), originally a hunting command to hounds meaning “Listen! Go back!”.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.