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fall

Syllabification: (fall)
Pronunciation: /fôl/

Translate fall | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of fall

verb (past fell /fel/; past participle fallen /ˈfôlən/)

[no object]
  • 1move downward, typically rapidly and freely without control, from a higher to a lower level:bombs could be seen falling from the planes (as adjective falling)the power lines had been brought down by falling trees
  • (fall off) become detached accidentally and drop to the ground:my sunglasses fell off and broke on the pavement
  • hang down:hair that was allowed to fall to the shoulders
  • (of land) slope downward; drop away:the land fell away in a steep bank
  • (fall into) (of a river) flow or discharge itself into.
  • (of someone’s eyes or glance) be directed downward.
  • (of someone’s face) show dismay or disappointment by appearing to sag or droop:her face fell as she thought about her life with George
  • occur, arrive, or become apparent as if by dropping suddenly:when night fell we managed to crawl back to our lines the information might fall into the wrong hands
  • 2(of a person) lose one’s balance and collapse:she fell down at school today
  • throw oneself down, typically in order to worship or implore someone:they fell on their knees, rendering thanks to God
  • (of a tree, building, or other structure) collapse to the ground:the house looked as if it were going to fall down at any moment
  • (of a building or place) be captured or defeated:their mountain strongholds fell to enemy attack
  • die in battle:an English leader who had fallen at the hands of the Danes
  • archaic commit sin; yield to temptation:it is their husband’s fault if wives do fall
  • (of a government or leader) lose office.
  • (in sports) lose or be eliminated from play.
  • 3decrease in number, amount, intensity, or quality:in 1987 imports into Britain fell by 12 percent we’re worried that standards are falling
  • find a lower level; subside or abate:the water table in the Rift Valley fell
  • (of a measuring instrument) show a lower reading:the barometer had fallen a further ten points
  • 4pass into a specified state:many of the buildings fell into disrepair she fell pregnant
  • (fall to doing something) begin to do something:he fell to musing about how it had happened
  • be drawn accidentally into:you must not fall into this common error
  • occur at a specified time:Mother’s birthday fell on Flag Day
  • be classified or ordered in the way specified:canals fall within the Minister’s brief

noun

  • 1 [usually in singular] an act of falling or collapsing; a sudden uncontrollable descent:his mother had a fall, hurting her leg as she alighted from a train
  • a controlled act of falling, especially as a stunt or in martial arts.
  • Wrestling a move which pins the opponent’s shoulders on the ground for a count of three.
  • a state of hanging or drooping downward:the fall of her hair
  • a downward difference in height between parts of a surface:at the corner of the massif this fall is interrupted by other heights of considerable stature
  • a sudden onset or arrival as if by dropping:the fall of darkness
  • 2a thing that falls or has fallen:in October came the first thin fall of snow a rock fall
  • (usually falls) a waterfall or cascade.
  • chiefly literary a downward turn in a melody:that strain again, it had a dying fall
  • (falls) the parts or petals of a flower that bend downward, especially the outer perianth segments of an iris.
  • 3a decrease in size, number, rate, or level; a decline:a big fall in unemployment
  • 4a loss of office:the fall of the government
  • the loss of a city or fortified place during battle:the fall of Jerusalem
  • a person’s moral descent, typically through succumbing to temptation.
  • (the Fall or the Fall of Man) the lapse of humankind into a state of sin, ascribed in traditional Jewish and Christian theology to the disobedience of Adam and Eve as described in Genesis.
  • 5 (also Fall) autumn.

Phrases

fall foul (or afoul) of

come into conflict with and be undermined by:any commitment of resources is likely to fall foul of government cash limitations

fall in (or into) line

conform with others or with accepted behavior.
[with reference to military formation]

fall into place

(of a series of events or facts) begin to make sense or cohere:once he knew what to look for, the theory fell quickly into place

fall on stony ground

see stony.

fall over oneself to do something

informal be excessively eager to do something:critics and audiences fell over themselves to compliment him

fall prey to

see prey.

fall short (of)

(of a missile) fail to reach its target.
figurative be deficient or inadequate; fail to reach a required goal:the total vote fell short of the required two-thirds majority

fall to pieces

see fall apart below.

fall victim to

see victim.

take the fall

informal receive blame or punishment, typically in the place of another person.

Phrasal Verbs

fall apart (or to pieces)

break up, come apart, or disintegrate:their marriage is likely to fall apart
(of a person) lose one’s capacity to cope:Angie fell to pieces because she had lost everything

fall back

move or turn back; retreat.

fall back on

have recourse to when in difficulty:they normally fell back on one of three arguments

fall behind

fail to keep up with one’s competitors.
fail to meet a commitment to make a regular payment:borrowers falling behind with their mortgage payments

fall down

be shown to be inadequate or false; fail:the deal fell down partly because there were a lot of unanswered questions

fall for

informal
  • 1be captivated by; fall in love with.
  • 2be deceived by (something):he should have known better than to expect Duncan to fall for a cheap trick like that

fall in

  • 1take one’s place in a military formation:the soldiers fell in by the side of the road
  • 2(of a structure) collapse inward.

fall in with

  • 1meet by chance and become involved with:he fell in with thieves
  • 2act in accordance with (someone’s ideas or suggestions); agree to:falling in with other people’s views

fall on (or upon)

  • 1attack fiercely or unexpectedly:the army fell on the besiegers
  • seize enthusiastically:she fell on the sandwiches as though she had not eaten in weeks
  • 2(of someone’s eyes or gaze) be directed toward:her gaze fell on the mud-stained coverlet
  • 3(of a burden or duty) be borne or incurred by:the cost of tuition should not fall on the student

fall out

  • 1(of the hair, teeth, etc.) become detached and drop out.
  • 2have an argument:he had fallen out with his family
  • 3leave one’s place in a military formation, or on parade:the two policemen at the rear fell out of the formation
  • 4happen; turn out:matters fell out as Stephen arranged

fall through

come to nothing; fail:the project fell through due to lack of money

fall to

(of a task) become the duty or responsibility of:it fell to me to write to Shephard
(of property) revert to the ownership of.

Origin:

Old Englishfallan, feallan, of Germanic origin; the noun is partly from the verb, partly from Old Norse fall 'downfall, sin'

fall in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fall in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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