Used to suggest a fallback option, especially one that isn't ideal but is available if other plans don't work out.
“We could always postpone the trip until next month if the flights are too expensive.”
“We could always ask for volunteers if we can't hire extra staff in time.”
Listen for this phrase after other solutions have already been discussed and rejected — it usually introduces the backup plan. This is a common pattern in the Problem Solving dialogue, where 'always' signals it's a last resort rather than the first choice.
Synonyms: as a last resort, we could, another option is to, if all else fails, we could