as in withdraws
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 falls back
Really, even if tracking is massively off, and Project Hail Mary falls back to a $50M opening in North America, va bene.
—
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
This means people will lose an hour of sleep, but daylight hours also will increase in Indiana until the clock falls back again in early November.
—Marina Johnson, IndyStar, 7 Mar. 2026
In the process of watering the seed in, some of the loose soil dredged up by the disks falls back into the slits, covering the seed.
—David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 19 Feb. 2026
The top-three picks have been determined, and the task falls back to the readers to decide which will take the title in each of 50 categories, from burgers and wings to driveworthy things.
—Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
That water then freezes in the atmosphere and falls back down as snow.
—Julia James, Dallas Morning News, 24 Jan. 2026
When fired for real in the film, the first intercepting missile malfunctions and falls back to earth.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Longs should use that as their downside protection level, if GM falls back into the gap things get murky.
—Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2025
By waiving Achiuwa before the start of the regular season, the Heat falls back under the luxury tax threshold.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
This means people will lose an hour of sleep, but daylight hours also will increase in Indiana until the clock falls back again in early November.
—Marina Johnson, IndyStar, 7 Mar. 2026
In the process of watering the seed in, some of the loose soil dredged up by the disks falls back into the slits, covering the seed.
—David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 19 Feb. 2026
The top-three picks have been determined, and the task falls back to the readers to decide which will take the title in each of 50 categories, from burgers and wings to driveworthy things.
—Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
That water then freezes in the atmosphere and falls back down as snow.
—Julia James, Dallas Morning News, 24 Jan. 2026
When fired for real in the film, the first intercepting missile malfunctions and falls back to earth.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Longs should use that as their downside protection level, if GM falls back into the gap things get murky.
—Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 30 Oct. 2025
By waiving Achiuwa before the start of the regular season, the Heat falls back under the luxury tax threshold.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falls back
Verb
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If the Pentagon withdraws support, the Scouts would have to scramble to replace medical care, transportation and other emergency services.—
Graham Smith,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2026
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Antonio Delgado withdraws from New York governor race after Mamdani backs Hochul.—
,
FOXNews.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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By Saturday night, geomagnetic activity weakens and retreats north, making aurora visibility in Iowa unlikely or very limited.—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
20 Mar. 2026
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After a painful breakup, college junior Blake Logan retreats to her family's lake house in Tahoe and meets Wyatt Graham.—
Jessica Moore,
USA Today,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The discovery comes too late as Thompson pulls out his gun and fires three times into Vance's chest before being shot dead by arriving agents Parker and Timothy McGee (Sean Murray).—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
-
At the Kyiv Sea, someone pulls out a DJ controller and throws a party for the whole district.—
Daria Kolomiec,
Time,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Temperatures are likely to remain warm during the day, though forecasts show possible snow showers early Thursday night as the low drops back below freezing to the upper 20s.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
8 Mar. 2026
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The 54-year-old comedian with a beard full of gray stubble drops back to pass, launching a tight spiral underneath SoFi’s massive technicolor halo scoreboard hovering above a sea of empty stands.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pairing up Horse mounted patrol officers are trained to be able to ride any horse within their unit, but they’re paired with one in particular, until the animal retires.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
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With some help from the Aggies defense, Peters retires three straight batters and boasts two straight strikeouts.—
Zoe Collins Rath,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Falls back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falls%20back. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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