Definition of fall in English English dictionary
- Autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox in late September to the winter solstice in late December
- To die, especially in battle
This is a monument to all those who fell in the First World War.
- To be allotted to; to arrive through chance or fate
And so it falls to me to make this important decision.
- To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated
Rome fell to the Goths in 410 AD.
- To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity
Thrown from a cliff, the stone fell 100 feet before hitting the ground.
- A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc
- The action of a batsman being out
- autumn
- The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting
- A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction
- Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed
He set up his rival to take the fall.
- The act of moving in a fluid or vacuum under the effect of gravity to a lower position
- To become; to be affected by or befallen with a calamity; to change into the state described by words following; to become prostrated literally or figuratively
Our senator fell into disrepute because of the banking scandal.
- A loss of greatness or status
the fall of Rome.
- To cause something to descend to the ground (to drop it); especially to cause a tree to descend to the ground by cutting it down (felling it)
Ghoaſt . / To morrow in the battaile thinke on me, / And fall thy edgeleſſe ſword, diſpaire and die.
- To become
She has fallen ill.
- To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc)
The candidate's poll ratings fell abruptly after the banking scandal.
- To come down, to drop or descend
The rain fell at dawn.
- To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself
He fell to the floor and begged for mercy.
- To be brought to the ground
- If someone or something falls, they move quickly downwards onto or towards the ground, by accident or because of a natural force. Her father fell into the sea after a massive heart attack Bombs fell in the town I ought to seal the boxes up. I don't want the books falling out Twenty people were injured by falling masonry. Fall is also a noun. The helmets are designed to withstand impacts equivalent to a fall from a bicycle
- If a person or structure that is standing somewhere falls, they move from their upright position, so that they are then lying on the ground. The woman gripped the shoulders of her man to stop herself from falling We watched buildings fall on top of people and pets He lost his balance and fell backwards. Fall is also a noun. Mrs Briscoe had a bad fall last week. Fall down means the same as fall. I hit him so hard he fell down Children jumped from upper floors as the building fell down around them. + fallen fall·en A number of roads have been blocked by fallen trees
- {n} the act of falling, descent, disgrace, ruin
- {v} to tumble, drop, cut down, sink, decrease, revolt
- {f} tumble; descend; decrease; become; occur on; be victimized
- {i} tumble; descent; decrease; collapse; autumn; waterfall; being seduced; slope; (during an attack) landing of any missile (coined during the Israel-Hizbollah conflict in July-August 2006)
- come into the possession of; "The house accrued to the oldest son"
- If something falls, it decreases in amount, value, or strength. Output will fall by 6% Her weight fell to under seven stones Between July and August, oil product prices fell 0.2 per cent The number of prosecutions has stayed static and the rate of convictions has fallen. a time of falling living standards and emerging mass unemployment. = drop rise Fall is also a noun. There was a sharp fall in the value of the pound
- a landslide in which material free falls
- The surrender of a besieged fortress or town ; as, the fall of Sebastopol
- be captured; "The cities fell to the enemy"
- The act of felling or cutting down
- fall from clouds; "rain, snow and sleet were falling"; "Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on Herculaneum"
- when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
- To diminish; to lessen or lower
- The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force of gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the yard of ship
- That which falls; a falling; as, a fall of rain; a heavy fall of snow
- to be given by right or inheritance; "The estate fell to the oldest daughter"
- to become; to change into the state described by the adjective that follows
- That part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting
- To pass somewhat suddenly, and passively, into a new state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall into a passion; to fall in love; to fall into temptation
- Witnessed event of meteorite-dropping fireball
- If someone's hair or a garment falls in a certain way, it hangs downwards in that way. a slender boy with black hair falling across his forehead
- To become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be worse off than before; as, to fall into error; to fall into difficulties
- a sudden decline in strength or number or importance; "the fall of the House of Hapsburg"
- If someone falls in battle, they are killed. Another wave of troops followed the first, running past those who had fallen
- the act of surrendering (under agreed conditions); "they were protected until the capitulation of the fort"
- The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as, he was walking on ice, and had a fall
- To sink; to depress; as, to fall the voice
- A planet is in fall when placed in the sign opposite to that of its exaltation A debility
- Blame; punishment
- fall to somebody by assignment or lot; "The task fell to me"; "It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims"
- a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity; "a drop of 57 points on the Dow Jones index"; "there was a drop in pressure in the pulmonary artery"; "a dip in prices"; "when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall"
- the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve; "women have been blamed ever since the Fall"
- To decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to become insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline in weight, value, price etc
- If you fall somewhere, you allow yourself to drop there in a hurried or disorganized way, often because you are very tired. Totally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed
- be cast down; "his eyes fell"
- assume a disappointed or sad expression; "Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off"; "his crest fell"
- suffer defeat, failure, or ruin; "We must stand or fall"; "fall by the wayside"
- the season when the leaves fall from the trees; "in the fall of 1973"
- The amount of slope or slant per horizontal foot of a drain pipe or surface
- To cease to be erect; to take suddenly a recumbent posture; to become prostrate; to drop; as, a child totters and falls; a tree falls; a worshiper falls on his knees
- You can refer to a waterfall as the falls. panoramic views of the falls. Niagara Falls
- (Water Pump/Hydro Sections) - The vertical descent of water, usually measured in vertical feet Also called "head"
- Fall is the season between summer and winter when the weather becomes cooler. He was elected judge in the fall of 1991 The Supreme Court will not hear the case until next fall. see also fallen
- To happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to issue; to terminate
- Meteorites seen in the sky and recovered on the ground
- come under, be classified or included; "fall into a category"; "This comes under a new heading
- Of a spacecraft or spatial body, to drop toward another spatial body under the influence of the latter's gravity
- To Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the tide falls; the mercury falls in the barometer
- Fall River
- A city in Massachusetts, United States
- fall about
- To laugh so much that one's entire body moves somewhat uncontrollably
Every time he performed the trick people would fall about laughing.
- fall apart
- To be emotionally in crisis
As a result of being addicted to heroin, she was falling apart.
- fall apart
- To break into pieces through being in a dilapidated state
My old briefcase is falling apart. I'll have to buy a new one.
- fall asleep
- To die (often seen on gravestones)
John Doe, fell asleep 1 January 2001.
- fall asleep
- To pass from a state of wakefulness into sleep
- fall at the final hurdle
- Alternative form of fall at the last hurdle
- fall at the last hurdle
- To fail near the end of something
- fall away
- To cease to support a person or cause
- fall back on
- To turn to as a substitute
So I fell back on the simple methods of the plainsman and Indian and jogged along on their trail.
- fall back upon
- To fall back on
- fall behind
- To be late (for a regular event)
You're falling behind with the rent.
- fall behind
- To be progressively below average in performance
It's not like John to fall behind in maths.
- fall between two stools
- To attempt two roles and fail at both, when either could have been accomplished singly
As your chances of mega-success increase so do your chances of falling between two stools, and if you get it wrong, you could end up with a dog’s dinner that satisfies no one.
- fall between two stools
- To fit into neither of two categories and, hence, be neglected or fail
- fall by the wayside
- To fail to be completed, particularly for lack of interest; to be left out
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: / And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
- fall classic
- The World Series
The White Sox swept the 2005 fall classic.
- fall classics
- plural form of fall classic
- fall down
- To fall to the ground
Ring a-ring o' roses, / A pocketful of posies. / A-tishoo! A-tishoo! / We all fall down. — traditional nursery rhyme (UK version).
- fall down
- To collapse
The beams supporting the roof had rotted, causing the entire house to fall down.
- fall for
- To be fooled; to walk into a trap or respond to a scam or trick
I can't believe how many people still fall for the coin glued to the sidewalk.
- fall for
- To fall in love with someone
He really fell for the attractive waitress at his favorite restaurant.
- fall foul
- To be defeated or thwarted (by); to suffer ( + of)
Sky News fell foul of its own woolly reporting on Tuesday, when it reported human remains had been found on Saddleworth Moor. Ever keen to spin a good yarn, they immediately linked the story to moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley - only for the police to emerge seven hours later and announce that, after very careful inspection, they could confirm the carcass was not human.
- fall foul
- To collide; to conflict with; to attack (+ on, of, upon)
He was, literally speaking, drunk; which circumstance, together with his natural impetuosity, could produce no other effect than his running immediately up to his daughter, upon whom he fell foul with his tongue in the most inveterate manner.
- fall from grace
- to fall from one's current social position to something lower, to lose one's prestige, status and power
- fall from grace
- to lose God's favour through sins or wrongdoings
- fall guy
- one whom is gullible and easily duped
- fall guy
- scapegoat
- fall ill
- To become ill; to sicken
- fall in
- To collapse inwards
The heavy rain caused the roof to fall in.
- fall in
- Of a soldier, to get into position in a rank
- fall in line
- To submit to the rules of a higher authority; obey; conform
I won't grow up, I won't fall in line.
- fall in love
- To come to have feelings of intense liking directed at another person or a thing
I have just fallen in love with Rome!.
- fall in love
- To come to have feelings of love towards each other
They met, fell in love, got married, and lived happily ever after.
- fall in love
- To come to have feelings of love directed at another person or a thing
I fell in love with him the moment I first saw him.
- fall in with
- To accept a set of generally agreed rules, or a suggestion
It seemed like a good idea, so we fell in with it.
- fall in with
- To join a group of people
He has fallen in with a bad lot.
- fall into
- To enter something (especially a profession) without having planned it
Most of us didn't plan to be designers, we just fell into the job.
- fall into
- To be classified as; to fall under
That falls into three categories.
- fall into
- To go into something by falling
The cat might fall into the pool if you're not careful.
- fall line
- A line marking a boundary between an upland region and a plane; sometimes marked by a series of waterfalls on rivers that cross it
- fall line
- The imaginary line downhill that something falling downhill would naturally follow
- fall of wicket
- The side's total score when a particular batsman was out
- fall off
- To diminish in size or value
Business always falls off in the winter.
- fall off
- To become detached or to drop from
A button fell off my coat.
- fall off
- A hip hop term; to completely lose the plot in terms of artistic direction
MC ___'s new album is wack - he's fallen off big-time.
- fall off a truck
- Of an item of merchandise, to come into a person's possession without having been paid for; to be acquired illegally
He said he bought it at the markets but I think it fell off a truck.
- fall off the back of a lorry
- Of an item of merchandise, to come into a perons's possession without having been paid for; to have been acquired illegally
- fall off the turnip truck
- To be naive, uninformed, or unsophisticated, in the manner of a rustic person
Doesn't it strike you as funny that this city, which prides itself on its erudition and sophistication, can oftimes get suckered like a bumpkin who just fell off the turnip truck?.
- fall off the wagon
- To cease or fail at a regimen of self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an old habit or addiction
Though he fell off the wagon several times, he eventually succeeded in quitting.
- fall on
- To experience; to suffer; to fall upon
With the rise of the Internet, some media fell on hard times.
- fall on deaf ears
- Of a request, complaint, etc, to be ignored
Every time I ask him to do something for me, it falls on deaf ears.
- fall on one's face
- To fail, especially in a dramatic or particularly decisive manner
thers grumbled, questioning whether this man knew anything about fighting in the desert or was simply a strutting martinet who, once he was confronted with the tactical brilliance of Rommel, would fall on his face like so many before him. Unfortunately, if Montgomery failed, he would no doubt take a good part of the Eighth Army with him.
- fall on one's feet
- Alternative form of land on one's feet
- fall on one's sword
- Voluntarily to take the blame for a situation
In written testimony given to Congress and made public the day before the hearing, Hurd falls on his sword, apologizing for HP's spying on its own directors and invading the privacy of journalists.
- fall on one's sword
- To resign from a job or other position of responsibility, especially when pressured to do so
There is no sympathy for her. . ., one Minister said. She may just fall on her sword, or Gordon might humiliate her with a demotion..
- fall out
- To cease to be on good terms (with someone)
Dave and I fell out after a long argument.
- fall out
- To come out of something by falling
I opened the cupboard and a can fell out on to my foot.
- fall over
- To fall from an upright or standing position to a horizontal or prone position
- fall over
- Of a computer program, to crash
- fall over
- Of an argument, to fail to be valid
- fall over oneself
- To be unusually enthusiastic
On the contrary, instead of wholeheartedly defending Chase, Marshall fell over himself to accommodate his accusers.
- fall pregnant
- To become pregnant
We were delighted when I fell pregnant with my first son.
- fall prey
- To be affected, or overcome by a bad situation
Inexperienced teachers sometimes fall prey to fears that they do not know enough.
- fall short
- to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
But if being is not a whole through being affected by that affection, and there is such a thing as the whole itself, if follows that being falls short of itself.
- fall streaks
- Falling ice crystals that sublimate before reaching the ground
- fall through
- To be unsuccessful, abort, come to nothing/naught; to be cancelled; not to proceed
Their plans to go hiking Saturday fell through because it rained.
- fall through the cracks
- to be missed; to escape the necessary notice or attention
Complete every item, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
- fall together
- To contract
- fall together
- To close (of the eyes)
- fall under
- To belong to for purposes of categorization
The botany handbooks in the library fall under Plant Biology.
- fall upon
- To fall on; to experience; to suffer
With the rise of the Internet, some media fell upon hard times.
- fall webworm
- Hyphantria cunea, a moth in the family Arctiidae known principally for its larval stage, which creates characteristic webbed nests on a wide variety of hardwood trees in the late summer and fall
- fall-back
- A variant form of fallback
- fall-off analysis
- A type of archaeological analysis. Finds are plotted on a map and contoured in relation to the amount of finds
- fall-out shelter
- A thick-walled building, usually under the ground, built so that people can keep away from dust after a nuclear explosion
- fall-through
- In certain programming constructs, the situation where execution passes to the next condition in a list unless explicitly redirected
Specifically, it prohibits fall-through conditions in almost all cases.
- fall on
- If you fall on something when it arrives or appears, you eagerly seize it or welcome it. They fell on the sandwiches with alacrity
- fall on
- assault, attack; devour, attack (food)
- fall through
- fail, not work out (of a plan, negotiations, etc.)
- fall upon
- find unexpectedly; "the archeologists chanced upon an old tomb"; "she struck a goldmine"; "The hikers finally struck the main path to the lake
- fall upon
- assault, attack; meet with, experience (hard times, etc.); come across, run into
- fall apart
- Become to not work properly. "The equipment fell apart about six months after I bought it."
- fall apart at the seams
- (deyim) Be in a very poor condition and near to collapse
- fall flat on face
- Fail or make a mistake in an embarrassing way
- fall from grace
- (deyim) Fall out of favor, lose popularity, lose favor, fall from a position of high respectfulness and esteem
- fall prey to
- (deyim) Be harmed by someone or something We worry that our children will fall prey to the influence of bad kids. Patients may fall prey to dishonest salespeople who say they can cure their pain
1. We worry that our children will fall prey to the influence of bad kids.
2. Patients may fall prey to dishonest salespeople who say they can cure their pain.
- fall to pieces
- Lose one's capacity to cope
- fall upon
- 1. attack fiercely or unexpectedly. 2. (of someone's eyes) be directed towards. 3. meet with: "fell on hard times"
- fall upon
- literary to eagerly start eating or using something: She fell on the food as if she hadn’t eaten for days
- fall apart
- Lose one's capacity to cope
- fall into
- Be included in or classified as; (synonym) fall under
- fall on
- if a duty or job falls on someone, they are responsible for doing it: The responsibility usually falls on the mother
- fall on
- 1. attack fiercely or unexpectedly. 2. (of someone's eyes) be directed towards. 3. to meet with: "fell on hard times"
- fall on
- literary to suddenly attack or get hold of someone: Some of the older boys fell on him and broke his glasses
- fall on
- literary to eagerly start eating or using something: She fell on the food as if she hadn’t eaten for days
- A fall
- tumble
- Falling
- cadent
- Fell
- fil
- fall apart
- become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
- fall apart
- break or fall apart into fragments; "The cookies crumbled"; "The Sphinx is crumbling"
- fall apart
- lose one's emotional or mental composure; "She fell apart when her only child died
- fall apart
- lose one's emotional or mental composure; "She fell apart when her only child died"
- fall apart
- If you say that someone is falling apart, you mean that they are becoming emotionally disturbed and are unable to think calmly or to deal with the difficult or unpleasant situation that they are in. I was falling apart. I wasn't getting any sleep. = crack up
- fall apart
- {f} lose one's emotional self-control; suffer an emotional crisis, have a break down; break down into pieces
- fall apart
- go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
- fall apart
- If an organization or system falls apart, it becomes disorganized or unable to work effectively, or breaks up into its different parts. Europe's monetary system is falling apart I've tried everything to stop our marriage falling apart. = break down
- fall apart
- If something falls apart, it breaks into pieces because it is old or badly made. The work was never finished and bit by bit the building fell apart
- fall asleep
- doze off, nod off
- fall asleep
- change from a waking to a sleeping state; "he always falls asleep during lectures"
- fall asleep
- change from a waking to a sleeping state; "he always falls asleep during lectures
- fall asleep
- {f} drop asleep
- fall away
- get worse; "My grades are slipping"
- fall away
- If the degree, amount, or size of something falls away, it decreases. His coalition may hold a clear majority but this could quickly fall away = fall off
- fall away
- diminish in size or intensity
- fall away
- If you say that land falls away, you mean it slopes downwards from a particular point. On either side of the tracks the ground fell away sharply
- fall away
- If something falls away from the thing it is attached to, it breaks off. Officials say that one or two engines fell away from the plane shortly after takeoff
- fall back
- If an army falls back during a battle or war, it withdraws. The Prussian garrison at Charleroi was falling back
- fall back
- fall backwards and down
- fall back
- go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals"
- fall back
- hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc
- fall back
- move back and away from; "The enemy fell back"
- fall back
- retreat
- fall back
- If you fall back, you move backwards a short distance away from someone or something. He fell back in embarrassment when he saw that Ross had no hair at all The congregation fell back from them slightly as they entered
- fall back
- have recourse to; "The government resorted to rationing meat"
- fall back
- retreat, recede; fail to keep a promise
- fall back
- retreat fall backwards and down have recourse to; "The government resorted to rationing meat
- fall back on
- have recourse to, rely on
- fall back on
- If you fall back on something, you do it or use it after other things have failed. Unable to defeat him by logical discussion, she fell back on her old habit of criticizing his speech When necessary, instinct is the most reliable resource you can fall back on
- fall behind
- If you fall behind, you do not make progress or move forward as fast as other people. Evans had rheumatic fever, missed school and fell behind Boris is falling behind all the top players
- fall behind
- be backward, be slow, go down, deteriorate (in one's studies, etc.)
- fall behind
- hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc
- fall behind
- If you fall behind with something or let it fall behind, you do not do it or produce it when you should, according to an agreement or schedule. He faces losing his home after falling behind with the payments Thousands of people could die because the relief effort has fallen so far behind Construction work fell behind schedule
- fall behind
- retreat
- fall down
- If an argument, organization, or person falls down on a particular point, they are weak or unsatisfactory on that point. Service was outstandingly friendly and efficient, falling down on only one detail That is where his argument falls down. = fail
- fall down
- tumble, drop
- fall down
- Used in the context of general equities May not be able to produce as indicated in one's advertised market, due to getting less help from other parties (than anticipated) or due to changing market conditions
- fall down
- see fall 2
- fall down
- lose an upright position suddenly; "The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table"; "Her hair fell across her forehead"
- fall down
- n to fall to the floor or ground Betty fell down and hurt her arm
- fall down
- In the context of general equities, may not be able to produce as indicated in one's advertised market, due to less help (than anticipated) from other parties or due to changing market conditions
- fall for
- If you fall for someone, you are strongly attracted to them and start loving them. He was fantastically handsome -- I just fell for him right away
- fall for
- If you fall for a lie or trick, you believe it or are deceived by it. It was just a line to get you out here, and you fell for it!
- fall for
- fall in love with; become infatuated with; "She fell for the man from Brazil"
- fall for
- fall in love with; be deceived by
- fall for
- be deceived, duped, or entrapped by; "He fell for her charms"; "He fell for the con man's story"
- fall for
- be deceived, duped, or entrapped by; "He fell for her charms"; "He fell for the con man's story
- fall from grace
- revert back to bad behavior after a period of good behavior; "The children fell from grace when they asked for several helpings of dessert
- fall from grace
- {f} lose popularity, lose favor
- fall in
- If a roof or ceiling falls in, it collapses and falls to the ground. Part of my bedroom ceiling has fallen in. = cave in
