Meaning of fall in English
Table of contents
Pronunciation
/fɔl/US accent
UK accent
to browse different examples of pronunciation.Verb
fallEtymology
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 gravityExamples
- « The branch fell from the tree »
- « The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse »
Derived terms
- 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
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
- 6. suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
Examples
- « We must stand or fall »
- « fall by the wayside »
Derived terms
- 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
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
- 23. lose an upright position suddenly
Examples
- « The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table »
- « Her hair fell across her forehead »
Derived terms
- 24. drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
Examples
- « She fell back in her chair »
- « He fell to his knees »
Derived terms
- 25. fall or flow in a certain way
Examples
- « This dress hangs well »
- « Her long black hair flowed down her back »
Derived terms
- 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
fallDefinitions
1. the season when the leaves fall from the treesExamples
- « in the fall of 1973 »
- 2. a sudden drop from an upright position
Examples
- « he had a nasty spill on the ice »
Derived terms
- 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
Derived terms
- 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
- 7. a movement downward
Examples
- « the rise and fall of the tides »
Antonyms
Derived terms
- 8. the act of surrendering (under agreed conditions)
Examples
- « they were protected until the capitulation of the fort »
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
- 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 »
Derived terms
Famous quotes
- « Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there's got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you're at the edge, you have to go forward or backward if you go forward, you have to jump together. » Yo-Yo Ma
- « Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why. » Bernard Baruch
- « The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. » Ralph Waldo Emerson
- « Men who consistently leave the toilet seat up secretly want women to get up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night and fall in. » Rita Rudner
- « To be honest, I don't enjoy watching movies much when I'm working. They tend to fall apart on me a bit. » Christopher Nolan