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Definition of "fallback" []

  • Something to which one can resort or retreat. (noun)
  • A retreat. (noun)
  • Computer Science A mechanism for carrying forth programmed instructions despite malfunction or failure of the primary device. (noun)
  • Something that falls back: the fallback of a huge explosion. (noun)
  • Of, relating to, or constituting a resort or place of retreat: a fallback proposal; a fallback position behind our own lines. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "fallback" in a sentence
  • ""So, the fallback is to use old studies, done on dissimilar programs (human space flight and Earth/space science missions present very different challenges)""
  • "So, the fallback is to use old studies, done on dissimilar programs (human space flight and Earth/space science missions present very different challenges) and in management environments (NASA-OMB-Congress) that were quite different than they are currently."
  • "I was raised Catholic, so my fallback is heaven and Jesus, but, yeah, it is SO difficult to explain."