fallback

1 of 2

noun

fall·​back ˈfȯl-ˌbak 

1

: something on which one can fall back : reserve

—often used attributively

a fallback career

a fallback position

2

: a falling back : retreat

3

: something that falls back

the fallback from an explosion

fall back

2 of 2

verb

fell back; fallen back; falling back; falls back

intransitive verb

: retreat, recede

see also fall back on

Synonyms of fallback

Verb

• withdraw
• retreat
• drop back
• pull out
• retire

Examples of fallback in a Sentence

Verb

resistance from native forces was greater than expected, and the invading army was forced to fall back

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Survival is the new fallback mode. —Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025

The agency described the effort as part of a broader push to drive compliance with tighter federal identification rules while preserving a fallback for those without acceptable documents. —Bloomberg, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025

Verb

After being one of the big surprises of the early season, the Raptors have fallen back to the pack a bit, losing five of their last six and three in a row. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025

Capella Space’s satellite was going to fall back to Earth early; in a 2024 conference paper about the company’s experience, an author then at Capella Space’s team stated that its members found the terminator forecast to be accurate and began to use it in their modeling. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 10 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fallback

• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback

Kids Definition

fall back

verb

: retreat entry 2 sense 1