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

These streams of cooler gas may then fall back toward the galaxy's center and replenish the black hole's fuel supply.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Some potential buyers are finding that they don’t want to, or can’t keep waiting for rates to fall back to the sub-3% levels from the pandemic era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The most obvious drawback is that you’ll have less money to fall back on.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

We fall back in love with the city through Gail and Otto’s excitement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

He wanted to turn over in bed and fall back to sleep, but his stomach had other ideas.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

• recede
• withdraw