fall back on

to be able to use in an emergency.

• I have nothing to fall back on.
• He has no friends to fall back on.
• Mr Iuchi has no one to fall back on.
• We must have something to fall back on.
• We'll have to fall back on our reserves.
• When I was badly off, I fell back on him.
• I can fall back on my savings if I lose my job.
• Teachers shouldn't fall back on their authority.
• In an emergency you can fall back on your savings.
• It is always useful to have savings to fall back on.
• I fell back on the reserve tank when the gas ran out.
• I've used up my wages, but I have my bank account to fall back on.
• If you run out of cash, you can fall back on your savings in the bank.
• Many families had lost their savings during the war and had nothing to fall back on.
• For us, English was the language to fall back on when we couldn't make ourselves understood in French.