1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fall back

verb

Definition of fall backnext
as in to withdraw
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) resistance from native forces was greater than expected, and the invading army was forced to fall back

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fall back 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 County Commissioner Alexandra Davis warned there is no guarantee services will be less expensive for cities if fire-rescue falls back under county control. — Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026 It was expected to crest at 12 feet in the afternoon and fall back below by Friday morning. — Cheryl Vari, Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 Aug. 2026 The risk of debris falling back to Earth and harming someone or something is slim but not zero. — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fall back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fall back
  1. withdraw
  2. retreat
  3. drop back
  4. pull out
  5. retire
Verb
  • Some job seekers are pushing back against AI interviews in hiring — refusing them, withdrawing as candidates, or even blacklisting employers from future consideration.
    — Sarah Jackson Juhohn Lee, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
  • One candidate for the job, Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg, publicly withdrew from consideration last week.
    — Max Bultman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of withdraw
Verb
  • Officials say people who encounter a wolf should not run, but rather make noises, maintain eye contact and retreat slowly.
    — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • There was television, which, starting in the nineteen-fifties, kept kids indoors; also, houses got a lot bigger, and families smaller, so that most kids suddenly had the option of retreating to their own bedrooms.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of retreat
Verb
  • The soggy weekend comes as temperatures are expected to climb again in Los Angeles this week, soaring into the mid-90s by Wednesday and Thursday and dropping back into the 80s next weekend.
    — Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • As the race continued to unfold, Gasly steadily dropped back.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of drop back
Verb
  • The kind of weird minutiae that only nerds pull out of old archives.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Incumbent presidents’ parties usually lose ground in the midterms, but Trump has pulled out the stops to try to keep that from happening this time.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of pull out
Verb
  • In 2024, not long after Federer retired, the ATP saw its first top 10 composed entirely of two-handers.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Gaining enough prestige and respect in the industry himself to become the president of the elite organization Stunts Unlimited, Scott retired at 30 in order to direct.
    — William Earl, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of retire

Browse Nearby Words

fall away
fall back
fall back on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fall back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fall%20back. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of facsimile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All