fall back

verb

1. to recede or retreat

2. to have recourse (to)

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

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

Halloween weekend partygoers will get an extra hour of fun Saturday night — technically, Sunday morning — as clocks across the West Coast fall back an hour.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She kept expecting to fall back to the ground.

Read more on Literature

While the price of eggs has fallen back to normal levels now that the bird flu crisis has abated, people are seeing the price of beef skyrocket by 51% since February 2020.

Read more on Salon

Companies’ stocks surged immediately after announcing plans to buy up cryptocurrencies, but have since fallen back.

Read more on Barron's

Companies’ stocks surged immediately after announcing plans to buy up cryptocurrencies, but have since fallen back.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• recede 
• withdraw