fall back

1. 1.

   fall backwards and down

   Broaderlean back
2. 2.

   hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.

   Synonymslagdawdlefall behind

   Broaderfollow

   Narrowerdrag
3. 3.

   move back and away from

   “The enemy fell back”

   Broaderwithdraw

   Narrowerebb
4. 4.

   retreat

   Synonymsdrop offfall behindrecede

   Antonymsgain

   Broaderregress
5. 5.

   have recourse to

   “The government resorted to rationing meat”

   Synonymsresortrecur

   Broaderuse
6. 6.

   go back to bad behavior

   “Those who recidivate are often minor criminals”

   Synonymsrelapselapserecidivateregressretrogress

   Broaderrevert

Questions about fall back

What does fall back mean?

fall back means "fall backwards and down". That is the primary sense; the word has 6 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for fall back?

Close synonyms include lag, dawdle, fall behind, drop off, fall behind. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of fall back?

The recorded antonyms are gain.

Is fall back a common word?

fall back is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.