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
In 2023, federal lawmakers introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, a proposal to make daylight saving time permanent, meaning no more springing forward or falling back.
—
Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 29 Oct. 2025
For example, Comet Halley barely crosses the orbit of Neptune before falling back into the inner solar system.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
The median home price in the greater Boston area surpassed $1 million in June before falling back under that threshold again.
—Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Bye This isn’t so much the Gators moving up in the vibes as the next team falling back.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Even when new songs have come for the crown, a lot of them have only remained briefly at the top before falling back behind the top 10’s longterm residents in 2025.
—Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are falling back to Earth, with up to four burning up in the atmosphere each day, according to space trackers.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
Baby Steps doesn't go quite that hard, giving players occasional major checkpoints and large, flat plains that prevent you from falling back too far.
—ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
On the second interception, Simmons said Delaware bluffed as if an all-out blitz was coming before falling back into coverage and making the pick.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2025
Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 29 Oct. 2025
For example, Comet Halley barely crosses the orbit of Neptune before falling back into the inner solar system.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
The median home price in the greater Boston area surpassed $1 million in June before falling back under that threshold again.
—Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
Bye This isn’t so much the Gators moving up in the vibes as the next team falling back.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Even when new songs have come for the crown, a lot of them have only remained briefly at the top before falling back behind the top 10’s longterm residents in 2025.
—Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are falling back to Earth, with up to four burning up in the atmosphere each day, according to space trackers.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
Baby Steps doesn't go quite that hard, giving players occasional major checkpoints and large, flat plains that prevent you from falling back too far.
—ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
On the second interception, Simmons said Delaware bluffed as if an all-out blitz was coming before falling back into coverage and making the pick.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falling back
Verb
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With nothing but West Ham’s rapidly retreating defence in front of him, and an instant four-on-four, Guimaraes drove forward before picking out Murphy to his right, in a position to isolate left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf with a one-vs-one.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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After retreating behind the walls of Culloden Parks, the remaining fighters soon surrendered.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ciattarelli called it an affordability crisis and has called for withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an agreement among Northeast states to cap their emissions.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
4 Nov. 2025
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Elsewhere in the league, Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas declared for the draft last year out of Greece before withdrawing.—
Sam Vecenie,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Georgia is either extremely fortunate or extremely tough — possibly both — to keep pulling out these close Ws.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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Gun store employees recalled Farzam on two occasions pulling out of the parking lot – red and white lights flashing, sirens blaring – as if responding to an emergency call, court documents show.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Some backups go through every tiny detail of the pre and at-snap routine, even dropping back with a ball in their hand but stopping short of throwing it.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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As moisture increases later this week, a cooling trend will commence with temperatures dropping back into the normal range by Friday.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After backing away from the giant mammal, the influencer then moves closer again, jumping back once more when the elephant attempts to grab him with its trunk.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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And yet the Republican administration and its congressional allies are showing no signs of caving to Democratic demands or backing away from threats to use the opportunity to pursue deeper cuts to the federal workforce.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Leaders like former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and retiring Partnership for New York City CEO, Kathryn Wylde come to mind.—
Sally Susman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
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Sonya Evans stays in District 4 Sonya Evans, a former Blue Valley School District parent, made the jump to district leadership in 2023 when she was tapped to replace a retiring Kaety Bowers.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Falling back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falling%20back. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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