fallback

[ fawl-bak ]

/ ˈfɔlˌbæk /

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See synonyms for fallback on Thesaurus.com

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. 2022

How to use fallback in a sentence

Think back to the Bush-Kerry race of 2004, the Thrilla in Vanilla.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Back in New York, the slow pace and inward focus of her yoga practice was less fulfilling.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The al Qaeda-linked gunmen shot back, but only managed to injure one officer before they were taken out.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

So, Islamized teaching sends girls back home for marriage and housework, and remains exclusively for boys.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Ages back—let musty geologists tell us how long ago—'twas a lake, larger than the Lake of Geneva.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The boys were tumbling about, clinging to his legs, imploring that numerous things be brought back to them.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
With a suffocating gasp, she fell back into the chair on which she sat, and covered her face with her hands.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Do not the widow's tears run down the cheek, and her cry against him that causeth them to fall?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

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

Other 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]