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

Phrases

fall back on or fall back upon

: to have recourse to

had to fall back on their reserves

Synonyms

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

The three options look good to my eyes, but the lack of black means there's no default, fallback choice for people who want their phone to be as sleek as possible. —PC Magazine, 11 Sep. 2025

For decades, the Pentagon’s fallback has been inertial navigation systems (INS), which use gyroscopes and accelerometers to track motion without external signals. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025

Verb

However, as vaccines became available, the economy recovered, and bond yields increased, gold fell back below $1,700/oz by early 2021—a drop of 18% in less than a year. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Troopers saw open bottles of alcohol in the Equinox and Tipantuna Quinchiguano, who would regain consciousness and quickly fall back to sleep, had bloodshot and glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol. —Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 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