fall back on

Idioms  

1. Also, fall back upon. Rely on, have recourse to, as in I fall back on old friends in time of need, or When he lost his job he had to fall back upon his savings. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fall back on

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

That leaves you with enough money, roughly, to 90, and then you’d have only your guaranteed income to fall back on.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

For cloud-computing giants, though, there is something of a reprieve: At least they could fall back on the tried-and-true business model that sustained them before AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

At least men can always fall back on suits, he says.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

So I fall back on the support networks of my real-life social class, call the dermatologist I know in Key West, and bludgeon him into prescribing something sight unseen.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich