fall back on
fall back on · falls back on · fell back on · fallen back on · falling back on
To turn to as a substituteTo turn to as a substitute; to rely on as a backup.
» I have nothing to fall back on.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRExamples
18 sentencesI have nothing to fall back on.
Do you have savings to fall back on?
deHast du Ersparnisse, auf die du zurückgreifen kannst? — raggione
I can fall back on my savings if I lose my job.
Meaning
2 senses(transitive)To be blamed on.
If we do this, the consequences will fall back on you.
(transitive)To turn to as a substitute; to rely on as a backup.
Forms
falls back on, falling back on, fell back on, fallen back onirregular · Lesson
| Base form | fall back on · to fall back on |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | falls back on |
| Present participle | falling back on |
| Past simple | fell back on |
| Past participle | fallen back on |
Tenses
fall back on · fell back on · will fall back on · have fallen back onPoint at a form to see it in a sentence.Tap a form to see it in a sentence.
Phrasal verbs
20 phrasal verbs- fall inстановиться в строй, строитьсяOf a soldier, to get into position in a rank.einfallenTo collapse inwards.
- fall intoTo go into something by falling.
- fall onrecaerTo be assigned to; to acquire a new responsibility, duty or burden; to fall to.To experience; to suffer; to fall upon.
- fall offcaerodpaść, odpadaćcairTo become detached or to drop from.
- fall downпадати, упастипадать, упастьumfallentombercadereupaść, upadaćTo fall to the ground. To collapse.
- fall outпосваритисяTo cease to be on friendly terms.ссориться, поссоритьсяTo cease to be on friendly terms.ausgehen, ausfallenquerellarseTo cease to be on friendly terms.brouiller avecTo cease to be on friendly terms.poróżniać sięTo cease to be on friendly terms.brigarTo cease to be on friendly terms.To come out of something by falling.
- fall overumfallen, umkippencaerseprzewracać się, przewrócić sięcair (sobre), tombar (sobre)To fall from an upright or standing position to a horizontal or prone position.
- fall apartрозпадатися, розвалюватисяразваливаться, развалитьсяauseinanderfallendeshacersetomber en morceauxcadere a pezzirozpadać się, rozpaść sięaltüst olmakTo be emotionally in crisis.cair aos pedaçosTo disintegrate, to break into pieces.
More 12
- fall backretirar, retirarsese replier, se rabattrewycofać się, zmniejszyćTo retreat.
- fall throughfehlschlagen, scheiterntomber à l’eauandare a monteprzepadać, przepaśćsuya düşmekTo be unsuccessful, come to nothing; to be cancelled; not to proceed.
- fall underTo belong to for purposes of categorization.
- fall down onTo fail at or leave incomplete.
- fall awayTo cease to support a person or cause.
- fall forвтрескиваться, втрескатьсяTo fall in love with.sich in jemanden verliebenTo fall in love with.enamorarseTo fall in love with.s’énamourerTo fall in love with.cascarciaşık olmakTo fall in love with.apaixonar-se porTo fall in love with.To be fooled by; to walk into (a trap) or respond to (a scam or trick).
- fall back onTo turn to as a substitute; to rely on as a backup.
- fall back intoTo return to old habits; to return to an unhealthy or unhappy situation.
- fall in withTo join (a group of people).
- fall upTo benefit in the long run from what seems initially to be a setback.
- fall aroundTo fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.
- fall todatedTo enter into or begin an activity, especially with enthusiasm or commitment and especially in regard to the activities of eating or drinking.
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.