fallback

An act of falling back.

Adjective

  1. That can be resorted to as a fallback.
    • a fallback plan

Origin

From the verb fall back.

Forms

fall-back

Synonyms

alternate alternative back-up backup secondary

Derived

fallback font

Noun

  1. An act of falling back.
    • A failure of one of the rocket's first-stage engines just after liftoff would result in a destructive pad fallback.
    • The black hole formed as a result of fallback of ejecta onto the neutron star initially created by the supernova explosion.
  2. A backup plan or contingency strategy; an alternative which can be used if something goes wrong with the main plan; a recourse.
    • As a fallback, I suppose we can use typewriters if the word processing system fails.
  3. A reduction in bitumen softening point, sometimes called refluxing or overheating, in a relatively closed container.
  4. Pulverised material that falls back to earth after a nuclear explosion; fallout.
    • Particle size distributions of fallback and ejecta were determined principally by mechanical sieving and weighing. - 1970, Nuclear Science Abstracts, page 3595:

Forms

fallbacks fall-back

Synonyms

ebbing recession retreat back-up backup plan B recourse. Thesaurus:option

Hyponyms

automatic fallback modulation fallback

Verb

  1. Misspelling of fall back.

Forms

fall-back