spring forward, fall back
Syllables: spring for·ward, fall backUK/ˌspɹɪŋ ˈfɔːwəd ˌfɔːl ˈbæk//ˌspɹɪŋ ˈfɔɹwəɹd ˌfɔl ˈbæk/
spring forward, fall back phrase: used to recall how timepieces are adjusted for daylight saving time: Local time goes forward in the spring (usually by one hour), and back in fall (autumn).
Phrase
spring forward, fall back
- Used to recall how timepieces are adjusted for daylight saving time: Local time goes forward in the spring (usually by one hour), and back in fall (autumn).
- [I]f we have to standardize on one time period, it would seem eminently logical to settle on daylight time for the convenience of the greatest number of people. Besides, under such a system, we would once and for all abolish the trivial "Spring forward, fall back."1971 October 28, Craig Hosmer, “Fiddling around with ‘God’s Time’”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 92d Congress, First Session (United States House of Representatives)...
- I think it is important to remember the great push for year-round daylight saving time came as a result of the energy crisis of 1973. It was alleged this action would result in home heating, gasoline, and electricity savings and as a result the Congress got into the spring-forward, fall-back...1976 June 9, Keith G[eorge] Sebelius, “Statement of Hon. Keith G. Sebelius, a Representative in Congress from the State of Kansas”, in Daylight Savings Time Act of 1976: Hearings before the...
- Synonyms:
- spring ahead, fall behind
Examples of spring forward, fall back in a sentence
- If you use the simple mnemonic, "Spring forward, fall back," you won't have to find out the hard way that you forgot to change your clock.2002, John B. Arden, “Tricking Yourself into Remembering”, in Improving Your Memory for Dummies (For Dummies), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley...
- Then in the fall they set them back, leading to the clever saying, “spring forward, fall back.”2011, Darrell Young, “Setup Menu”, in Mastering the Nikon D7000, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Rocky Nook; NikoniansPress, →ISBN, page 244:
Synonyms of spring forward, fall back
Origin of spring forward, fall back
A pun on spring (“(noun) season of the year in temperate regions in which plants spring from the ground and into bloom and dormant animals spring to life; (verb) to move or burst forth”) and US English fall (“(noun) season of the year in temperate regions when the leaves typically fall from the trees; (verb) to move to a lower position under the effect of gravity”).
Words that rhyme with spring forward, fall back
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- plaque
- whack
- slack
- Cadillac
- swack
- thwack
- pac
- shack
- bivouac
- cack
- clack
- gack
- lack
- smack
- unpack
- wrack
- aback
- flak
- hark back
- mack
- claque
- flack
- knack
- quack
- shellac
- snack
- yak
- Aach
- ack
- gak
- mac
- Meshach
- multitrack
- plack
- snacc
- wack
- akh
- alack
- awrack
- brach
- cac
- Cayman Brac
- Chiraq
- cook back
- craic
- diclofenac
- dictionary attack
- dime back
Questions about spring forward, fall back
- What does spring forward, fall back mean?
- Spring forward, fall back means used to recall how timepieces are adjusted for daylight saving time: Local time goes forward in the spring (usually by one hour), and back in fall (autumn).
- How do you use spring forward, fall back in a sentence?
- If you use the simple mnemonic, "Spring forward, fall back," you won't have to find out the hard way that you forgot to change your clock.
- What part of speech is spring forward, fall back?
- Spring forward, fall back is a phrase.
- How do you pronounce spring forward, fall back?
- Spring forward, fall back is pronounced /ˌspɹɪŋ ˈfɔːwəd ˌfɔːl ˈbæk/ (UK).
Words near spring forward, fall back in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: spring forward, fall back (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-spring forward, fall back.oga.
Cite this entry: “spring forward, fall back.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spring_forward%2C_fall_back. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.