fallback
[ fawl-bak ]
/ ˈfɔlˌbæk /
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noun
an act or instance of falling back.
something or someone to turn or return to, especially for help or as an alternative: His teaching experience would be a fallback if the business failed.
adjective
Also fall-back . of or designating something kept in reserve or as an alternative: The negotiators agreed on a fallback position.
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Origin of fallback
1750–60, Americanism; noun, adj. use of verb phrase fall back
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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British Dictionary definitions for fallback
fall back
verb (intr, adverb)
to recede or retreat
(foll by on or upon) to have recourse (to)
noun fall-back
a retreat
a reserve, esp money, that can be called upon in need
- anything to which one can have recourse as a second choice
- (as modifier)a fall-back position
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with fallback
fall back
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]
Recede, as in The waves fell back from the shore. [c. 1800]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.