fall

Fall is defined as to drop or come down, often unexpectedly.

(verb)

An example of fall is to trip and tumble to the ground during a run.

The definition of a fall is an often unexpected drop or descent or the season that comes after summer and before winter.

(noun)

  1. An example of fall is a tumble to the ground.
  2. An example of fall is the month of November.

YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2013 by LoveToKnow Corp.

See fall in Webster's New World College Dictionary

intransitive verb fell, fallen, falling

  1. to come down because detached, pushed, dropped, etc.; move down and land forcibly: apples fall from the tree to come down suddenly from a standing or sitting position; tumble; topple; become prostrate to be wounded or killed in battle to come down in ruins; collapse: the building fell to hang down: hair falling about her shoulders
  2. to take a downward direction: land falling away to the sea to become lower in amount, number, degree, intensity, value, etc.; drop; abate: prices fell to lose power; be overthrown: the government has fallen to lose status, reputation, dignity, etc. to yield to temptation; do wrong; sin; specif. in earlier use (esp. of women), to lose chastity to be captured or conquered to take on a look of disappointment or dejection: his face fell to become lower in pitch or volume: her voice fell
  3. to take place; occur: the meeting fell on a Friday to come by lot, distribution, inheritance, etc.: the estate falls to the son to pass into a specified condition; become: to fall ill, to fall in love to come at a specified place: the accent falls on the third syllable to be directed by chance: his eye fell on a misspelled word to be spoken in an involuntary way: the news fell from his lips to be born: said of animals to be divided (into): to fall into two classes

Origin: 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
  10. 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
  11. the amount of what has fallen: a six-inch fall of snow
  12. the distance that something falls
  13. water falling over a cliff, etc.; cascade
  14. 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
  15. a long tress of hair, often synthetic, used by a woman to fill out her coiffure
  16. Mech. the loose end of the rope, cable, etc. used in a block and tackle
  17. 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
  18. 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

Origin: < the v.

adjective

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

See fall in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb fell fell (fĕl), fall·en (fôˈlən), fall·ing, falls
verb, intransitive
  1. To drop or come down freely under the influence of gravity.
  2. To drop oneself to a lower or less erect position: I fell back in my chair. The pilgrims fell to their knees.
  3. a. To lose an upright or erect position suddenly.
    b. To drop wounded or dead, especially in battle.
  4. To go or come as if by falling: All grief fell from our hearts. Night fell quickly.
  5. To come to rest; settle: The light fell on my book.
  6. To hang down: The child's hair fell in ringlets.
  7. To be cast down: Her eyes fell.
  8. To assume an expression of consternation or disappointment: His face fell when he heard the report.
  9. To undergo conquest or capture, especially as the result of an armed attack: The city fell after a long siege.
  10. a. To experience defeat or ruin: After 300 years the dynasty fell.
    b. To lose office: The disgraced prime minister fell from power.
  11. To slope downward: The rolling hills fall gently toward the coast.
  12. a. To lessen in amount or degree: The air pressure is falling.
    b. To decline in financial value: Last year, stocks fell sharply.
  13. To diminish in pitch or volume: My friend's voice fell to a whisper.
  14. a. To give in to temptation; sin.
    b. Theology To lose primordial innocence and happiness. Used of humanity as a result of the Fall.
    c. To lose one's chastity.
  15. To pass into a particular state, condition, or situation: fell silent; fall in love.
  16. To occur at a specified time: New Year's Day falls on a Tuesday this year.
  17. To occur at a specified place: The stress falls on the last syllable.
  18. To come, as by chance: fell among a band of thieves; a thought that fell into his mind.
  19. a. To be given by assignment or distribution: The greatest task fell to me.
    b. To be given by right or inheritance.
  20. To be included within the range or scope of something: The specimens fall into three categories.
  21. 21. To come into contact; strike: My gaze fell on a small book in the corner.
  22. 22. To come out; issue: Insincere compliments fell from their lips.
  23. 23. To apply oneself: fell to work immediately.
  24. 24. To be born. Used chiefly of lambs.
verb, transitive
To cut down (a tree); fell.
noun
  1. The act or an instance of falling.
  2. A sudden drop from a relatively erect to a less erect position.
  3. Something that has fallen: a fall of hail.
  4. a. An amount that has fallen: a fall of two inches of rain.
    b. The distance that something falls: The victim suffered a fall of three stories to the ground.
  5. Autumn.
  6. falls (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A waterfall.
  7. A downward movement or slope.
  8. Any of several pendent articles of dress, especially:
    a. A veil hung from a woman's hat and down her back.
    b. An ornamental cascade of lace or trimming attached to a dress, usually at the collar.
    c. A woman's hairpiece with long, free-hanging hair.
  9. a. An overthrow; a collapse: the fall of a government.
    b. Armed capture of a place under siege: the fall of Troy.
  10. A reduction in value, amount, or degree.
  11. A marked, often sudden, decline in status, rank, or importance: “turned them in, set them up for prosecution; positioned them, as it were, for the fall” (Joan Didion).
  12. a. A moral lapse.
    b. A loss of chastity.
  13. often Fall Theology The loss of humanity's original innocence and happiness resulting from Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
  14. Sports
    a. The act of holding a wrestling opponent on his or her back so that the shoulders remain in contact with the mat for a designated period, usually one or two seconds, thereby winning the match. Also called pin.
    b. Any of various wrestling maneuvers resulting in such an act.
  15. Nautical
    a. A break or rise in the level of a deck.
    b. falls The apparatus used to hoist and transfer cargo or lifeboats.
  16. The end of a cable, rope, or chain that is pulled by the power source in hoisting.
  17. a. The birth of an animal, especially a lamb.
    b. All the animals born at one birth; a litter.
  18. A family of woodcock in flight. See Synonyms at flock1.
  19. Botany The outer series of perianth in the irises and related plants.
adjective
  1. Of, having to do with, occurring in, or appropriate to the season of fall: fall fashion; fall harvests.
  2. Grown during the season of fall: fall crops.
Phrasal Verbs: fall apart To break down; collapse: The rickety chair fell apart. To suffer a nervous breakdown: He fell apart after years as a POW. fall away To withdraw one's friendship and support. To become gradually diminished in size. To drift off an established course. To lose weight. fall back To give ground; retreat. To recede: The waves fell back. fall behind To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind. To be financially in arrears. fall down To fail to meet expectations; lag in performance: fell down on the job. fall for To feel love for; be in love with. To be deceived or swindled by: fell for the con artist's scheme and lost $200,000. fall in To take one's place in a military formation. To sink inward; cave in: The roof of the old barn fell in. fall off To become less; decrease: Stock prices have fallen off. The number of staff meetings fell off after a few months. To lose weight: Toward the end of the dry season, the cattle fall off rapidly. Nautical To change course to leeward.fall on/upon To attack suddenly and viciously: Snipers and irregulars fell on the hapless patrol. To meet with; encounter: a stockbroker who fell on hard times. fall out
a. To leave a barracks, for example, in order to take one's place in a military formation.
b. To leave a military formation.
To quarrel: The siblings fell out over their inheritance. To happen; occur. To be readily explainable; follow logically or naturally: These facts fall out nicely from the new theory. fall through To fail; miscarry: Our plans fell through at the last minute. fall to To begin an activity energetically: “The press fell to with a will” (Russell Baker).

Origin:

Origin: Middle English fallen

Origin: , from Old English feallan

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