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

Glide's longer-term goal is to move supported users away from SMS authentication rather than leaving text messages available as the easy fallback. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Treat any workflow with no fallback as a single point of failure, not a convenience. — Pawel Rzeszucinski, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Verb

Temperatures will remain very hot on Wednesday, but northern areas may begin seeing highs fall back into the upper 90s, while locations farther south remain in the triple digits. — Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026

This represents a further stretch on budgets of consumers already dealing with above-target inflation, and without the boon of company stock to fall back on. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026

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
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback
• blackjack
• brownback
• buyback
• callback
• cognac
• comeback
• cutback

Kids Definition

fall back

verb

: retreat entry 2 sense 1