phrasal verb🧩 phrasal verb
fall back on
to rely on as backup
What it means
To rely on something or someone as a backup when other plans or resources fail. It is inseparable and often used about savings, skills, or trusted people.
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Examples
- It's good to have savings to fall back on in an emergency.
- If teaching doesn't work out, she can fall back on her engineering degree.
- He fell back on his old habit of biting his nails when nervous.
- Without family to fall back on, life in a new country can feel lonely.
Where it comes from
From military language, where troops 'fall back' (retreat) to a safer position to regroup. Recorded since the 1800s in its figurative sense of relying on something safe in difficult times.
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