as in to withdraw
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fall back
Davis punched him once; Flores fell back and hit his head.
—
Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
The first tree fell back there and hit the tree here, which hit another tree, and so there's a domino effect.
—David Chiu, People.com, 18 Feb. 2025
His rating then fell back down to 45% in December 2017 — during the first year of Trump’s administration.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2025
By the numbers: Prices paid for steel and aluminum could rise as much as 20% in the months after tariffs are implemented, before falling back some, according to research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics.
—Courtenay Brown, Axios, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fall back
Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
The first tree fell back there and hit the tree here, which hit another tree, and so there's a domino effect.
—David Chiu, People.com, 18 Feb. 2025
His rating then fell back down to 45% in December 2017 — during the first year of Trump’s administration.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2025
By the numbers: Prices paid for steel and aluminum could rise as much as 20% in the months after tariffs are implemented, before falling back some, according to research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics.
—Courtenay Brown, Axios, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fall back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fall back
Verb
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At the 2001 event Venus withdrew with a knee injury,.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2025
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The survey also found that while more than half of Russians said the war had a mostly negative effect on their daily lives, compared to five months ago, fewer people supported Putin withdrawing troops without achieving the war's goals.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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With their press broken, Newcastle had to retreat to their 5-4-1 shape but became fatigued making so many recovery runs.—
Liam Tharme,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
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The initiative follows widespread backlash against major retailers and corporations accused of retreating from DEI commitments after the Trump administration took steps to dismantle federal DEI programs.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Adult cougar population estimates hovered just under 2,000 in 2004, slowly climbed to just below 3,000 between 2014 and 2018, and dropped back to around 2,500 recently, according to a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources datasheet.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
13 Feb. 2025
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Chloe Kim drops back in after break Chloe Kim has taken a full season off from competition after each of her Olympic halfpipe titles in 2018 and 2022, and each time quickly returned to the top of snowboarding.—
Nick Zaccardi,
NBC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Speculation about when the season would move ahead has been rife since Sky Deutschland pulled out of original content in July 2023.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Feb. 2025
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His one worry is pulling out the celebration and then losing the game.—
Marcus Thompson II,
The Athletic,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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And the elevator breaks down sometimes, and then nobody can retire.—
Antonia Hitchens,
The New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2025
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There is now a four-to-three liberal majority on the court, but Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, a liberal who has sat on the court since 1995, is retiring, putting the court’s majority on the ballot.—
Theodore Schleifer,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fall back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fall%20back. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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