fallback

1 of 2

noun

fall·​back ˈfȯl-ˌbak How to pronounce fallback (audio)
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
Phrases
fall back on or fall back upon
: to have recourse to
had to fall back on their reserves

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 fallback position is VoIP , voice-over-internet calling. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024 He was tasked with briefing arriving infantry troops and conducting reconnaissance missions to scope out fallback locations. Kostiantyn Khudov, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024 German officials have begun discussing a nuclear fallback plan with the U.K. and France, thanks in large part to Russia's continued aggression as well as former President Trump's pressure on European allies to meet defense spending thresholds, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 27 Feb. 2024 Getting back to the redundancy in automation topic, Aurora and Conti highlighted that their fallback systems supply built-in redundancies that provide backups in case of component or sensor failure when operating driverlessly. Richard Bishop, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 At the moment, the password fallback is pretty much universal. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 12 May 2023 But the administration and Danco have a fallback argument if the court doesn’t agree. Mark Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2023 Kyiv recently announced the allocation of nearly $500 million to build fortifications along its border with Russia and to create a deeper defensive line in the eastern Donbas region that can serve as fallback positions should the Russians achieve a major breakthrough. Marc Santora Tyler Hicks, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2024 The longer answer is that the fallback to passwords or recovery codes does introduce some vulnerability, at least theoretically. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 12 May 2023
Verb
And as the leaders of nearby states, including my home state of Washington, hold hearings about whether to ditch the antiquated practice of springing forward and falling back—with fiercely opposing views about which way to lock the clock—Arizona leaders have no need. TIME, 9 Mar. 2024 This will give most Americans an extra hour of sunlight until the clocks fall back again in the autumn. Kerry Breen, CBS News, 9 Mar. 2024 Kerr furiously called timeout as his team fell back behind by four. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 In contrast, Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program, designed to induce people to leave encampments voluntarily, has moved more than 2,100 people indoors, with nearly 400 receiving permanent housing and more than 400 falling back into homelessness, according to LAHSA figures from last month. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Everything else was just making the decision to be adults, and not fall back into those sort of old patterns. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2024 Bitcoin prices continued their roller-coaster ride this afternoon, approaching $64,000 and then falling back below $60,000 following this run-up. Charles Lloyd Bovaird Ii, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 After ticking up to 50 on Wednesday, it’s not expected to fall back into the 40s again until Dec. 13. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024 Mastering the power of tech tools ultimately falls back on people, not systems. Jay Hakami, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fallback.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fallback was in 1607

Dictionary Entries Near fallback

Cite this Entry

“Fallback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fallback. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fall back

verb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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