Fallback
//ˈfɔːl.bæk// adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An act of falling back. countable, uncountable
"A failure of one of the rocket's first-stage engines just after liftoff would result in a destructive pad fallback."
- 2 to break off a military action with an enemy wordnet
- 3 A backup plan or contingency strategy; an alternative which can be used if something goes wrong with the main plan; a recourse. countable, uncountable
"As a fallback, I suppose we can use typewriters if the word processing system fails."
- 4 A reduction in bitumen softening point, sometimes called refluxing or overheating, in a relatively closed container. countable, uncountable
- 5 Pulverised material that falls back to earth after a nuclear explosion; fallout. countable, uncountable
"Particle size distributions of fallback and ejecta were determined principally by mechanical sieving and weighing."
Verb
- 1 Misspelling of fall back. alt-of, misspelling
Adjective
- 1 That can be resorted to as a fallback. not-comparable
"a fallback plan"
Example
More examples"A failure of one of the rocket's first-stage engines just after liftoff would result in a destructive pad fallback."
Etymology
From the verb fall back.
Related phrases
More for "fallback"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.