befall
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to happen or occur.
- Synonyms:
- chance, materialize, betide, ensue, bechance
-
Archaic. to come, as by right.
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(intr) to take place; come to pass
-
(tr) to happen to
-
to be due, as by right
Etymology
Origin of befall
before 900; Middle English befallen, Old English befeallan. See be-, fall (v.)
Explanation
Befall is an old-fashioned or literary way of saying something happened by chance. Bad luck befalls a heroine who drops her lucky rabbit foot. When something befalls you, it’s like bad luck falling on you. An earthquake can befall a city. A terrible disease could befall a child. A bolt of lightning could befall a very unlucky person. When something befalls you, you’re in trouble. Tragedies befall families in many of Shakespeare’s plays — that’s what makes them so much fun.
Vocabulary lists containing befall
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sanctions didn’t make life easier, he says, but they didn’t befall Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
Despite efforts to retain much of its historic character, the 14-year project proved controversial with one architectural expert branding the demolition "the greatest architectural crime to befall London in the 20th Century".
From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025
It was a tragic prophecy of what was to befall the couple's fifth child, Victoria.
From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025
I glanced over to find the mother staring into the abyss of the fridge, experiencing some premonition of what grim fate was about to befall her daughter.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025
It would have been enough to think that even one of these dangers could befall a child.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
