as in retreating
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
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Recent Examples of falling back
While the monologue was a blast of fresh chaos (or at least the sense of chaos) with Black jamming out with White, the rest of the show didn’t have the same kind of verve, falling back on familiar sketch formulas.
—
Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Another one is about leftover debris from the original stellar collision slowly falling back onto the star over millions of years.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 5 Apr. 2026
Tuesday will be noticeably cooler, with highs falling back into the 40s and low 50s and drier conditions returning late.
—Joseph Dames, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Blue light suppresses melatonin and makes falling back asleep significantly harder.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
In 2025, things got even worse, with the team falling back to seventh after being overtaken by Williams and the Racing Bulls.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2026
Crude prices shot up above $100 on the news of the attacks before falling back a bit.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly $120 on Monday before falling back but was still at around $90 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24% higher than when the war started.
—Samy Magdy, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
On Monday, markets swung from big losses to finish the day with gains, while oil prices neared $120 per barrel before falling back to about $90.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Another one is about leftover debris from the original stellar collision slowly falling back onto the star over millions of years.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 5 Apr. 2026
Tuesday will be noticeably cooler, with highs falling back into the 40s and low 50s and drier conditions returning late.
—Joseph Dames, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Blue light suppresses melatonin and makes falling back asleep significantly harder.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
In 2025, things got even worse, with the team falling back to seventh after being overtaken by Williams and the Racing Bulls.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2026
Crude prices shot up above $100 on the news of the attacks before falling back a bit.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly $120 on Monday before falling back but was still at around $90 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24% higher than when the war started.
—Samy Magdy, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
On Monday, markets swung from big losses to finish the day with gains, while oil prices neared $120 per barrel before falling back to about $90.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falling back
Verb
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Glaciers all over the world -- especially in Antarctica -- are also retreating at a rapid pace, recent research shows.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
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The alarmed father then began retreating while shouting for their daughter to drive away.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Slovenia began preemptively withdrawing all HiPP products from shelves of Spar and other supermarkets, its health inspectorate said.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Apr. 2026
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After withdrawing their endorsement of Swalwell, the California Teacher’s Association put its support behind Steyer, a sure blow to Porter, who has also sought to win the support of unions.—
Douglas Schoen,
Oc Register,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Madrid Open is losing some star power with Carlos Alcaraz joining Novak Djokovic in pulling out of the upcoming clay-court tournament Friday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Regarding his mother, Peltz Beckham accused Victoria of abruptly pulling out of making wife Nicola's wedding dress, as well as dancing inappropriately at the wedding ceremony.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Longhorns are the one team in the Final Four that has had a two-game losing streak, dropping back-to-back games to LSU and South Carolina in mid-January.—
David Brandt,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Last week, the quarterback shared a video of himself dropping back to throw on his official Instagram account.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Video footage from the apartment complex showed Kirkland speaking to several people in the Jeep before backing away and collapsing, the court document said.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2026
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In that interaction, forehead-to-forehead with Ayers and then slowly backing away, back to his bench, Hurley never blinked.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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More In 2018, Xcel Energy was the first energy company to commit to being 100% carbon free, with plans to build up wind, geothermal, solar, and storage while retiring its coal plants.—
Steve Gelsi,
semafor.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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During his final flight before retiring, the pilot reportedly flew the Boeing 757 extremely low over his hometown of Vestmannaeyjar, located off the southern coast of Iceland, without authorization from Icelandair.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Falling back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falling%20back. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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