fall back

British  

verb

1. to recede or retreat

2. to have recourse (to)

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noun

1. a retreat

2. a reserve, esp money, that can be called upon in need

3. 1. anything to which one can have recourse as a second choice

   2. ( as modifier )

      a fall-back position

fall back Idioms  

1. Give ground, retreat, as in The troops fell back before the relentless enemy assault , or He stuck to his argument, refusing to fall back . [c. 1600]

2. Recede, as in The waves fell back from the shore . [c. 1800]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fall back

Like many South Africans, most workers in the area live hand-to-mouth, with no savings to fall back on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Without a large increase in rotation after each encounter, the time required for the stripped material to fall back toward the black hole remains relatively steady.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Retirees often have other sources of retirement income to fall back on, such as Social Security, maybe a pension, maybe part-time work.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Originally part of a 2025 mission to launch a pair of lunar landers for U.S. and Japanese companies, the rocket was supposed to fall back to Earth.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

She let the curtain fall back in place and walked to the kitchen, wiping her hands on the dish towel slung over her shoulder.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

Related Words

• recede
• withdraw