fall

¹

[ fawl ]

verb (used without object)

, fell, fall·en, fall·ing.

1. to drop or descend under the force of gravity, as to a lower place through loss or lack of support.
2. to come or drop down suddenly to a lower position, especially to leave a standing or erect position suddenly, whether voluntarily or not:

   to fall on one's knees.

3. to become less or lower; become of a lower level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.; decline:

   The temperature fell ten degrees.

   Stock prices fell to a new low for the year.

4. to subside or abate.
5. extend downward; hang down:

   Her hair falls to her shoulders.

6. to become lowered or directed downward, as the eyes:

   My eyes fell before his steady gaze.

7. to become lower in pitch or volume:

   Her voice fell, and she looked about in confusion.

8. to succumb to temptation or sin, especially to become unchaste or to lose one's innocence.
9. to lose status, dignity, position, character, etc.
10. to succumb to attack:

    The city fell to the enemy.

11. to be overthrown, as a government.
12. to drop down wounded or dead, especially to be slain:

    to fall in battle.

13. to pass into some physical, mental, or emotional condition:

    to fall asleep; to fall in love.

14. to envelop or come as if by dropping, as stillness or night.
15. to issue forth:

    Witty remarks fall easily from his lips.

16. to come by lot or chance:

    The chore fell to him.

17. to come by chance into a particular position:

    to fall among thieves.

18. to come to pass, occur, or become at a certain time:

    Christmas falls on a Monday this year.

    The rent falls due the first of every month.

19. to have its proper place:

    The accent falls on the last syllable.

20. to come by right:

    The inheritance fell to the only living relative.

21. to be naturally divisible (usually followed by into ):

    The story fell into two distinct parts.

22. to lose animation; appear disappointed, as the face:

    His face fell when he heard the bad news.

23. to slope or extend in a downward direction:

    The field falls gently to the river.

24. to be directed, as light, sight, etc., on something:

    His eyes fell upon the note on the desk.

25. to collapse, as through weakness, damage, poor construction, or the like; topple or sink:

    The old tower fell under its own weight.

    The cake fell when he slammed the oven door.

26. (of an animal, especially a lamb) to be born:

    Two lambs fell yesterday.

verb (used with object)

, fell, fall·en, fall·ing.

1. to fell (a tree, animal, etc.).

noun

1. an act or instance of falling or dropping from a higher to a lower place or position.
2. that which falls or drops:

   a heavy fall of rain.

3. the season of the year that comes after summer and before winter; autumn.
4. a becoming less; a lowering or decline; a sinking to a lower level:

   the fall of the Roman Empire.

5. the distance through which anything falls:

   It is a long fall to the ground from this height.

6. Usually falls. a cataract or waterfall.
7. downward slope or declivity:

   the gentle rise and fall of the meadow.

8. a falling from an erect position, as to the ground:

   to have a bad fall.

9. a hanging down:

   a fall of long hair.

10. a succumbing to temptation; lapse into sin.
11. the Fall, (sometimes lowercase) Theology. the lapse of human beings into a state of natural or innate sinfulness through the sin of Adam and Eve.
12. Slang. an arrest by the police.
13. surrender or capture, as of a city.
14. proper place:

    the fall of an accent on a syllable.

15. Wrestling.
    1. an act or instance of holding or forcing an opponent's shoulders against the mat for a specified length of time.
    2. a match or division of a match.
16. a hairpiece consisting of long hair that is attached to one's own hair at the crown and usually allowed to hang freely down the back of the head so as to cover or blend with the natural hair.
17. an opaque veil hanging loose from the back of a hat.
18. falling band.
19. a decorative cascade of lace, ruffles, or the like.
20. Machinery, Nautical. the part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting.
21. Hunting. a deadfall.
22. the long soft hair that hangs over the forehead and eyes of certain terriers.
23. Armor. a pivoted peak projecting over the face opening of a burgonet.
24. Astrology. the sign of the zodiac in which the most negative influence of a planet is expressed ( exaltation ).
25. Mining. rock or ore that has collapsed from a roof, hanging wall, or the sides of a passage.

verb phrase

1. to come to nothing; fail of realization:

   Despite all his efforts, the deal fell through.

2. 1. to separate from; withdraw.
   2. to decrease in number, amount, or intensity; diminish:

      Tourism falls off when the summer is over.

   3. Nautical. to deviate from the heading; fall to leeward.
   4. South Midland and Southern U.S. to lose weight, usually due to illness:

      She was sick all winter and fell off till she was just skin and bones.

3. to give way; recede; retreat:

   The relentless shelling forced the enemy to fall back.

4. Slang.
   1. to be deceived by:

      Imagine falling for such an old trick.

   2. to fall in love with:

      He's not at all the type you would expect her to fall for.

5. 1. to lag, in pace or progress:

      We are falling behind in our work. Fatigued, some of the marchers fell behind.

   2. to fail to pay (a debt, obligation, etc.) at the appointed time:

      She fell behind in her tax payments, and the property was confiscated.

6. 1. to be the concern or responsibility of.
   2. to be classified as; be included within:

      That case falls under the heading of errors of judgment.

7. 1. to assault; attack:

      The enemy fell on them suddenly from the rear.

   2. to be the obligation of:

      It has fallen on me to support the family.

   3. to experience; encounter:

      Once well-to-do, they had fallen on hard times.

   4. to chance upon; come upon:

      I fell upon the idea while looking through a magazine.

8. 1. to fall to pieces toward the interior; sink inward.
   2. to take one's place in the ranks, as a soldier.
   3. Also fall in with. to become acquainted with, especially by chance:

      We fell in with an interesting couple from Paris.

9. 1. to quarrel; disagree:

      We fell out over who was to wash the dishes.

   2. to happen; occur:

      It fell out that we met by chance weeks later.

   3. to leave one's place in the ranks, as a soldier:

      They were ordered to fall out when the parade ended.

   4. Slang. to burst out laughing.
   5. South Midland and Southern U.S. to become unconscious; pass out.
10. 1. to apply oneself; begin:

       to fall to work.

    2. to begin to eat:

       They fell to and soon finished off the entire turkey.

11. 1. Also fall back to. to retreat to:

       They fell back on their entrenchments. The troops fell back to their original position.

    2. to have recourse to; rely on:

       They had no savings to fall back on.

12. Informal. to perform disappointingly; to disappoint; fail:

    He was doing well on the exam until he fell down on the last essay question.

13. 1. to withdraw support or allegiance:

       The candidate's supporters fell away when he advocated racial discrimination.

    2. to become lean or thin; diminish; decline.
    3. to forsake one's faith, cause, or principles:

       Many fell away because they were afraid of reprisals.

Fall

²

[ fawl ]

noun

1. Albert Bacon, 1861–1944, U.S. politician: senator 1912–21; secretary of the Interior 1921–23; convicted in Teapot Dome scandal.

Fall

¹

/ fɔːl /

noun

1. the Fall
   theol Adam's sin of disobedience and the state of innate sinfulness ensuing from this for himself and all mankind See also original sin

fall

²

/ fɔːl /

verb

1. to descend by the force of gravity from a higher to a lower place
2. to drop suddenly from an erect position
3. to collapse to the ground, esp in pieces
4. to become less or lower in number, quality, etc

   prices fell in the summer

5. to become lower in pitch
6. to extend downwards

   her hair fell to her waist

7. to be badly wounded or killed
8. to slope in a downward direction
9. Christianity to yield to temptation or sin
10. to diminish in status, estimation, etc
11. to yield to attack

    the city fell under the assault

12. to lose power

    the government fell after the riots

13. to pass into or take on a specified condition

    fall in love

    to fall asleep

14. to adopt a despondent expression

    her face fell

15. to be averted

    her gaze fell

16. to come by chance or presumption

    suspicion fell on the butler

17. to occur; take place

    Easter falls early this year

    night fell

18. (of payments) to be due
19. to be directed to a specific point
20. foll byback, behind, etc to move in a specified direction
21. to occur at a specified place

    the accent falls on the last syllable

22. foll by to to return (to); be inherited (by)

    the estate falls to the eldest son

23. often foll byinto, under, etc to be classified or included

    the subject falls into two main areas

24. to issue forth

    a curse fell from her lips

25. (of animals, esp lambs) to be born
26. dialect.
    to become pregnant
27. dialect.
    tr to fell (trees)
28. cricket (of a batsman's wicket) to be taken by the bowling side

    the sixth wicket fell for 96

29. archaic.
    to begin to do

    fall to doing

    fall a-doing

30. fall flat
    to fail to achieve a desired effect
31. fall foul of
    1. to come into conflict with
    2. nautical to come into collision with
32. fall short
    1. to prove inadequate
    2. often foll by of to fail to reach or measure up to (a standard)

noun

1. an act or instance of falling
2. something that falls

   a fall of snow

3. autumn
4. the distance that something falls

   a hundred-foot fall

5. a sudden drop from an upright position
6. often plural
   1. a waterfall or cataract
   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      Niagara Falls

7. a downward slope or decline
8. a decrease in value, number, etc
9. a decline in status or importance
10. a moral lapse or failing
11. a capture or overthrow

    the fall of the city

12. a long false hairpiece; switch
13. a piece of loosely hanging material, such as a veil on a hat
14. machinery nautical the end of a tackle to which power is applied to hoist it
15. nautical one of the lines of a davit for holding, lowering, or raising a boat
16. Also calledpinfall wrestling a scoring move, pinning both shoulders of one's opponent to the floor for a specified period
17. hunting
    1. another word for deadfall
    2. ( as modifier )

       a fall trap

18. 1. the birth of an animal
    2. the animals produced at a single birth
19. take the fall slang.
    to be blamed, punished, or imprisoned

Other Words From

• un·fall·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fall¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English fallen, Old English feallan; cognate with German fallen, Old Norse falla; akin to Lithuanian pùlti “to fall”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fall¹

Old English feallan ; related to Old Norse falla , Old Saxon, Old High German fallan to fall; see fell ²

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. fall all over oneself, to show unusual or excessive enthusiasm or eagerness, especially in the hope of being favored or rewarded: Also fall over oneself.

   The young trainees fell all over themselves to praise the boss's speech.

2. fall off the roof, Slang: Older Use. to menstruate.
3. fall out of bed, to get out of bed quickly.
4. fall over backward(s),
   1. bend ¹( def 21 ).
   2. to exhibit great eagerness, especially in pursuit of one's own advantage:

      The candidate fell over backward in support of the issues that would win votes.

5. fall / come short. short ( def 45 ).
6. fall / land on one's feet. feet ( def 3 ).
7. fall foul / afoul of. foul ( def 38 ).

More idioms and phrases containing fall

• bottom drops (falls) out
• break one's fall
• easy as pie (falling off a log)
• let drop (fall)
• let the chips fall where they may
• ride for a fall
• take the fall

Example Sentences

Current anti-inflammatory treatments bring relief but often fall short, as patients can lose their response to these medications over time, suffer relapses, and experience significant side effects.

From Science Daily

Though nausea was the main driver of food waste, the results hinted at another possible influence: changes in preferences and habits that led people to toss foods that had fallen out of favor.

From Science Daily

Paul Fleming, general secretary of arts union Equity, agreed that new opera productions and engagement programmes in Manchester were welcome, but said "it falls short of a season at the scale audiences deserve".

From BBC

The rapid Waca in Perth, Australia, has a high clay content, but produced cracks big enough for a small child to fall into.

From BBC

It’s a measure of the strength of Max's character that he has managed to handle this with such equanimity, especially as the team’s competitive form was falling away at the same time.

From BBC

Related Words

• collapse
• crash
• decline
• decrease
• depreciate
• diminish
• dip
• dive
• dwindle
• ease
• go down
• land
• plummet
• plunge
• settle
• sink
• slip
• slump
• stumble
• tumble