Meaning & use
backup plan
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A plan you prepare in advance in case your first plan fails or cannot be used.
Grammar: Countable: say a backup plan or two backup plans; often used with have, make, or need.
Patterns
- have a backup plan
- make a backup plan
- a backup plan for something
- a backup plan in case ...
The meeting might be canceled, so let's have a backup plan.
She always makes a backup plan in case her flight is delayed.
Our backup plan was to take the train if the roads were closed.
nouncountable
An extra person or thing kept ready to replace the first one if it is unavailable.
Grammar: Countable and often used before another noun: a backup plan, a backup singer, a backup copy.
Patterns
- a backup plan for someone
- keep something as a backup plan
If the main speaker is sick, we need a backup plan.
The hotel was full, but the tour guide had a backup plan for us.
Word forms
| plural | backup plans |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a backup plan
- Smart travelers always have a backup plan.
- a solid backup plan
- We need a solid backup plan before the launch.
- fall back on a backup plan
- If the deal falls through, we can fall back on our backup plan.
- a backup plan in case of rain
- The picnic has a backup plan in case of rain.
- come up with a backup plan
- The team came up with a backup plan overnight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contingency plan
- More formal and common in business writing; a backup plan is the everyday term.
- fallback
- Shorter and often used as a noun or adjective, but it sounds more technical than backup plan.
- plan B
- Informal and very close in meaning; it suggests the second choice rather than something prepared in advance.
Word family
Commonly confused: backup plan or back-up?
backup plan vs back-up
The same phrase is sometimes written with a hyphen, especially in British English, but backup plan as two words is the usual modern spelling.
Practice
Which sentence uses "backup plan" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"In case" introduces the possible problem naturally. Option 2 needs a conjunction like "in case," option 3 uses a verb after "for" instead of a noun, and option 4 is not grammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “backup plan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.