fall back upon

intransitive verb fell, fallen, falling

1. to come down because detached, pushed, dropped, etc.; move down and land forcibly: apples fall from the tree to come down suddenly from a standing or sitting position; tumble; topple; become prostrate to be wounded or killed in battle to come down in ruins; collapse: the building fell to hang down: hair falling about her shoulders
2. to take a downward direction: land falling away to the sea to become lower in amount, number, degree, intensity, value, etc.; drop; abate: prices fell to lose power; be overthrown: the government has fallen to lose status, reputation, dignity, etc. to yield to temptation; do wrong; sin; specif. in earlier use (esp. of women), to lose chastity to be captured or conquered to take on a look of disappointment or dejection: his face fell to become lower in pitch or volume: her voice fell
3. to take place; occur: the meeting fell on a Friday to come by lot, distribution, inheritance, etc.: the estate falls to the son to pass into a specified condition; become: to fall ill, to fall in love to come at a specified place: the accent falls on the third syllable to be directed by chance: his eye fell on a misspelled word to be spoken in an involuntary way: the news fell from his lips to be born: said of animals to be divided (into): to fall into two classes

transitive verb

noun

1. a dropping; descending; coming down
2. a coming down suddenly from a standing or sitting position
3. a hanging down, or a part hanging down
4. a downward direction or slope
5. a becoming lower or less; reduction in value, price, etc.
6. a lowering of the voice in pitch or volume
7. a capture; overthrow; ruin
8. a loss of status, reputation, etc.
9. a yielding to temptation; wrongdoing; moral lapse
10. 1. a birth: said of animals
    2. the number of animals born at one birth; litter
11. 1. something that has fallen: a fall of leaves
    2. a felling of trees, or timber felled at one time
12. that season of the year in which many trees lose their leaves; autumn: in the North Temperate Zone, generally regarded as including the months of September, October, and November
13. the amount of what has fallen: a six-inch fall of snow
14. the distance that something falls
15. water falling over a cliff, etc.; cascade
16. a broad, turned-down ruff or collar worn in the 17th cent.
17. 1. Now Rare a kind of veil hanging from the back of a woman's hat
    2. lace, ruffles, or other trimming on a dress, usually hanging from the collar
18. a long tress of hair, often synthetic, used by a woman to fill out her coiffure
19. Mech. the loose end of the rope, cable, etc. used in a block and tackle
20. Naut.
    1. either of the lines used to lower or hoist a boat at the davits
    2. in a tackle (), the part of a rope between the free end and a pulley or between pulleys
21. Wrestling
    1. the act of holding an opponent down so that both shoulders touch the mat for a specified time period; pin
    2. a bout or a division of a match

adjective