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
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
Ellison briefly became the second-ever person to cross the $400 billion mark, before falling back down to $388 billion by late afternoon.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
The object will travel upwards, before falling back into your hand, or to the ground.
—Big Think, 9 Sep. 2025
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
Ellison briefly became the second-ever person to cross the $400 billion mark, before falling back down to $388 billion by late afternoon.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
The object will travel upwards, before falling back into your hand, or to the ground.
—Big Think, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falling back
Verb
-
Precious metals and related mining stocks are retreating after a parabolic upmove over the past two months.—
Katie Stockton,
CNBC,
27 Oct. 2025
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In the example below from their 2-1 win over Girona, Barcelona man-mark the opposition midfielders but Fermin Lopez’s passive positioning allows a pass into retreating centre-forward Portu.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The battle resulted in the Indigenous residents withdrawing and paved the way for an 1843 treaty that opened up the area to more settlement, according to the historical association.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Budapest is in the process of withdrawing from the ICC.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Charlotte 49ers were on the brink of pulling out a season-changing upset through three quarters against North Texas (7-1, 3-1 American), but a dreadful fourth quarter brought Tim Albin’s upset hopes crashing down, losing 54-20 in a Friday night blowout.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Oct. 2025
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Thursday's Week 7 contest turned into a shootout with the Bengals pulling out a 33-31 upset in the final seconds.—
Anne Erickson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 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
-
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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Slow down, maybe, but no plans of retiring.—
Daniela Avila,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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Billups was also a Hall of Fame player, mostly for the Detroit Pistons, before retiring in 2014.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Falling back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falling%20back. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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