to reply quickly and rudely to something that someone says. This expression is used especially when talking about children who are being rude to their parents
talk back to:
Melanie, don’t talk back to your mother!
Synonyms and related words
To reply or to answer
reply
answer
respond
talk back
phrasal verb intransitive
Other entries for this word
back talknoun
Word Forms
present tense
I/you/we/they
talk back
he/she/it
talks back
present participle
talking back
past tense
talked back
past participle
talked back
DEFINITIONS1
1
to reply quickly and often rudely to something that someone says. This expression is used especially to describe children being rude to their parents