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fall definition

fall (fôl)

intransitive verb fell, fallen fall′en, falling fall′·ing

Etymology: ME fallen < OE feallan, to fall, akin to Ger fallen < IE base *phol-, to fall > Lith púolu, to fall

transitive verb

Dialectal to fell (a tree, etc.)

noun

  1. a dropping; descending; coming down
  2. a coming down suddenly from a standing or sitting position
  3. a hanging down, or a part hanging down
  4. a downward direction or slope
  5. a becoming lower or less; reduction in value, price, etc.
  6. a lowering of the voice in pitch or volume
  7. a capture; overthrow; ruin
  8. a loss of status, reputation, etc.
  9. a yielding to temptation; wrongdoing; moral lapse
    1. a birth: said of animals
    2. the number of animals born at one birth; litter
    1. something that has fallen a fall of leaves
    2. a felling of trees, or timber felled at one time
  12. that season of the year in which many trees lose their leaves; autumn: in the North Temperate Zone, generally regarded as including the months of September, October, and November
  13. the amount of what has fallen a six-inch fall of snow
  14. the distance that something falls
  15. water falling over a cliff, etc.; cascade
  16. a broad, turned-down ruff or collar worn in the 17th cent.
    1. Now Rare a kind of veil hanging from the back of a woman's hat
    2. lace, ruffles, or other trimming on a dress, usually hanging from the collar
  18. a long tress of hair, often synthetic, used by a woman to fill out her coiffure
  19. Mech. the loose end of the rope, cable, etc. used in a block and tackle
  20. Naut.
    1. either of the lines used to lower or hoist a boat at the davits
    2. in a tackle (), the part of a rope between the free end and a pulley or between pulleys
  21. Wrestling
    1. the act of holding an opponent down so that both shoulders touch the mat for a specified time period; pin
    2. a bout or a division of a match

Etymology: < the v.

adjective

of, in, for, or characteristic of the fall season
fall Idioms

fall (all) over oneself

☆
Informal to behave in too eager or zealous a manner

fall among

to come among by chance

fall apart

to crumble, disintegrate, disunite, etc.

fall away

  1. to take away friendship, support, etc.; desert
  2. to become less in size, strength, etc.; specif., to grow thin and weak

fall back

to withdraw; give way; retreat

fall back on

or fall back upon
  1. to turn, or return, to for security or help
  2. to retreat to

fall behind

  1. to be outdistanced; drop behind
  2. to fail to pay on time; be in arrears

fall down on

☆
Slang to fail or be unsuccessful in (a job, etc.)

fall for

☆ Informal
  1. to fall in love with; become infatuated with
  2. to be tricked or deceived by

fall foul of

or fall afoul of
  1. to collide with or become entangled with
  2. to get into trouble or conflict with

fall in

  1. to collapse inward; cave in
  2. to agree
  3. Mil. to line up in proper formation

fall in with

  1. to meet by chance
  2. to meet and join
  3. to agree with; comply with

fall off

  1. to become smaller, less, lighter, etc.
  2. to become worse; decline
  3. Naut. to swing away from the heading, often, specif., to leeward

fall on

or fall upon
  1. to attack
  2. to be the duty of

fall out

  1. to have a disagreement; quarrel
  2. to happen; result
  3. Mil. to leave one's place in a formation

fall short

  1. to be lacking
  2. to fail to meet a standard or goal: with of

fall through

to come to nothing; fail

fall to

to begin; start; specif.,
  1. to start attacking
  2. to start eating

fall under

  1. to come under (an influence, etc.)
  2. to be listed or classified as

ride for a fall

to behave in a manner likely to cause one trouble or injury

the Fall (of Man)

Christian Theol. Adam's sin of yielding to temptation in eating the forbidden fruit, and his subsequent loss of grace

the fall of the cards

the chance distribution of cards in a given deal

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms fall idiom

fall Synonyms

fall

n.

  1. The act of falling

    drop, decline, lapse, collapse, breakdown, tumble, spill, downfall, abasement, diminution, lowering, reduction, defeat, degradation, humiliation, descent, plunge, slump, subsidence, recession, ebb, abatement, sinking, dive, nose dive, slip, flop*; see also drop 2.

    Antonyms rise*, elevation*, ascent. *

  2. Capture

    overthrow, capitulation, downfall, ruin; see defeat 2, destruction 2.

  3. A yielding to temptation; often with the

    original sin, transgression, error, lapse; see sin.

  4. That which falls

    rainfall, snowfall, precipitation, snow, rain, hail, sleet, blanket, carpet, covering, one or two or three, etc., inches of snow or rain.

  5. The season after summer

    autumn, harvest, harvest time, the sere and yellow leaf, the fall of the year, September, October, November, ""when the frost is on the punkin' and the fodder's in the shock.''

  6. A waterfall

    cascade, cataract, chute; see waterfall.

ride for a fall*

endanger oneself, take risks, take chances, act indiscreetly; see risk 1.


fall

v.

  1. To pass quickly downward

    sink, topple, drop, stumble, trip, fall down, plunge, plummet, tumble, descend, go down, lower, totter, break down, cave in, decline, subside, collapse, buckle, crumple, settle, droop, slump, hang, regress, lapse, backslide, drop down, pitch, gravitate, come down suddenly, take a dive, take a nose dive, be precipitated, make a forced landing, fall flat, fall in, fold up, keel over, fall over, tip over, slope, slip, recede, relapse, abate, ebb, diminish, depreciate, decrease, flop*, take a spill*, take a header*.

    Antonyms rise*, ascend*, climb. *

  2. To be overthrown

    submit, yield, surrender, succumb, be destroyed, be taken, pass into enemy hands, bend, defer, lie down, resign, capitulate, back down, topple, go down, go under, break up, get one's come-uppance*, fall to pieces*.

    Antonyms prevail, endure*, resist. *

  3. To die in battle

    go down, slump, drop, bite the dust*; see die 1.

  4. To occur

    take place, befall, come, come to pass; see happen 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

fall Usage Examples

Preposition: at

  • hurdle: This decision seemed to acknowledge that higher targets were unlikely to be met â and the efficiency agenda would fall at the first hurdle.

Preposition: within

  • scope: Note * IT Services will provide guidance on which computers should fall within the scope of this policy.

Preposition: into

  • trap: Don't fall into the trap of a context transfer which takes longer than the computation itself.

Adjective complement

  • silent: By sheer coincidence, as soon as the stadium falls silent, United begin to play better.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • through: This is where your fire will sit; the mesh allows the ash to fall through.

Preposition: from

  • grace: Before his fall from grace Henri Meyer was a man of a morally neutral disposition.

Preposition: by

  • wayside: Do you see yourself coming from a more visual or literary background -- or are these distinctions meant to fall by the wayside?
fall usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

fall quotes

Qui jacet in terra non habet unde cadat. He who is lying on the ground has nowhere to fall.

-Alan of Lille also known as  'Alanus de Insulis'

Oft seldan hw×r ×fter leodhyre lytle hwile bongar bugeth. It is very rare that, after the fall of a prince, the deadly spear rests for long.

-Anonymous

If only we might fall Like cherry blossoms in the spring So pure and radiant.

-Anonymous

fall quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"fall." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/fall>

APA Style

fall. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/fall

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