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Meaning of fall in English
Pronunciation
/fɔl/
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Verb
fall
Etymology
Old English fallan, feallan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vallen and German fallen; the noun is partly from the verb, partly from Old Norse fall‘downfall, sin’
Definitions
1.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
Examples
« The branch fell from the tree »
« The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse »
2.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
Examples
« The temperature is going down »
« The barometer is falling »
« The curtain fell on the diva »
« Her hand went up and then fell again »
Antonyms
rise
lift
arise
move up
go up
come up
uprise
ascend
go up
3.
pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
Examples
« fall into a trap »
« She fell ill »
« They fell out of favor »
« Fall in love »
« fall asleep »
« fall prey to an imposter »
« fall into a strange way of thinking »
« she fell to pieces after she lost he »
4.
come under, be classified or included
Examples
« fall into a category »
« This comes under a new heading »
5.
fall from clouds
Examples
« rain, snow and sleet were falling »
« Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on Herculaneum »
6.
suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
Examples
« We must stand or fall »
« fall by the wayside »
7.
decrease in size, extent, or range
Examples
« The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester »
« The cabin pressure fell dramatically »
« her weight fall to under a hundred pounds »
« his voice fell to a whisper »
Antonyms
increase
8.
die, as in battle or in a hunt
Examples
« Many soldiers fell at Verdun »
« Several deer have fallen to the same gun »
« The shooting victim fell dead »
9.
touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
Examples
« Light fell on her face »
« The sun shone on the fields »
« The light struck the golden necklace »
« A strange sound struck my ears »
10.
be captured
Examples
« The cities fell to the enemy »
11.
occur at a specified time or place
Examples
« Christmas falls on a Monday this year »
« The accent falls on the first syllable »
12.
yield to temptation or sin
Examples
« Adam and Eve fell »
13.
lose office or power
Examples
« The government fell overnight »
« The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen »
14.
to be given by assignment or distribution
Examples
« The most difficult task fell on the youngest member of the team »
« The onus fell on us »
« The pressure to succeed fell on the yougest student »
15.
move in a specified direction
Examples
« The line of men fall forward »
16.
be due
Examples
« payments fall on the 1st of the month »
17.
lose one's chastity
Examples
« a fallen woman »
18.
to be given by right or inheritance
Examples
« The estate fell to the oldest daughter »
19.
come into the possession of
Examples
« The house accrued to the oldest son »
20.
fall to somebody by assignment or lot
Examples
« The task fell to me »
« It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims »
21.
be inherited by
Examples
« The estate fell to my sister »
« The land returned to the family »
« The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead »
22.
slope downward
Examples
« The hills around here fall towards the ocean »
23.
lose an upright position suddenly
Examples
« The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table »
« Her hair fell across her forehead »
24.
drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
Examples
« She fell back in her chair »
« He fell to his knees »
25.
fall or flow in a certain way
Examples
« This dress hangs well »
« Her long black hair flowed down her back »
26.
assume a disappointed or sad expression
Examples
« Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off »
« his crest fell »
27.
be cast down
Examples
« his eyes fell »
28.
come out
Examples
« issue »
« silly phrases fell from her mouth »
29.
be born, used chiefly of lambs
Examples
« The lambs fell in the afternoon »
30.
begin vigorously
Examples
« The prisoners fell to work right away »
31.
go as if by falling
Examples
« Grief fell from our hearts »
32.
come as if by falling
Examples
« Night fell »
« Silence fell »
Noun
fall
Definitions
1.
the season when the leaves fall from the trees
Examples
« in the fall of 1973 »
2.
a sudden drop from an upright position
Examples
« he had a nasty spill on the ice »
3.
the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve
Examples
« women have been blamed ever since the Fall »
4.
a downward slope or bend
Antonyms
ascent
acclivity
rise
raise
climb
upgrade
5.
a lapse into sin
Examples
« a loss of innocence or of chastity »
« a fall from virtue »
6.
a sudden decline in strength or number or importance
Examples
« the fall of the House of Hapsburg »
Antonyms
rise
7.
a movement downward
Examples
« the rise and fall of the tides »
Antonyms
rise
rising
ascent
ascension
8.
the act of surrendering (under agreed conditions)
Examples
« they were protected until the capitulation of the fort »
9.
the time of day immediately following sunset
Examples
« he loved the twilight »
« they finished before the fall of night »
10.
when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
11.
a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity
Examples
« it was a miracle that he survived the drop from that height »
12.
a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
Examples
« 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 »