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- Dictionaryfall/fɔːl/
verb
- 1. move from a higher to a lower level, typically rapidly and without control: "five inches of snow fell through the night" Similar dropdrop downplummetdescendcome downgo downplungesinkdivenosedivetumblepitchcascadetechnical:gravitateOpposite rise
- ▪ hang down: "hair that was allowed to fall to the shoulders"
- ▪ (of land) slope downwards: "the field fell gently downhill"
- ▪ (of someone's eyes or glance) be directed downwards: "Albert's eyes fell, and he blushed"
- ▪ (of someone's face) show dismay or disappointment by appearing to droop: "her face fell as she thought about her life with George"
- 2. (of a person) lose one's balance and collapse: "he stumbled, tripped, and fell" Similar topple overtumble overkeel overfall downfall overgo head over heelsgo end over endfall headlonggo headlongcollapsefall in a heaptake a spillpitch forwardtriptrip overstumblestaggerslipslidecowpinformal:come a croppergo for sixdated:measure one's lengthOpposite get up
- ▪ throw oneself to the ground: "she fell to her knees and began to weep"
- ▪ (of a tree or structure) collapse to the ground.
- 3. decrease in number, amount, intensity, or quality: "imports fell by 12 per cent" Similar decreasedeclinediminishfall offdrop offgo downgrow lesslessendwindleplummetplungeslumpsinkfall off a cliffdepreciatedecrease in valuelose valuedecline in pricecheapendevalueinformal:hit the floorgo through the floornosedivetake a nosedivetake a headergo into a tailspincrashOpposite riseincrease
- ▪ (of a measuring instrument) show a lower reading: "the barometer had fallen a further ten points"
- 4. be captured or defeated: "the besieged city fell after three months" Similar surrenderyieldsubmitgive ingive upgive waycapitulatesuccumbbe overthrown bybe taken bybe defeated bybe conquered bybe overcome bybe overwhelmed bylose one's position topass into the hands offall victim toOpposite resist
- ▪ (of a wicket) be taken by the bowling side: "more wickets fell"
- ▪ die in battle: "an English leader who had fallen at the hands of the Danes" Similar diebe killedbe slainbe a casualtybe a fatalitybe lostlose one's lifeperishdrop deadmeet one's endmeet one's deathinformal:bite the dustcroakbuy itsnuff itpeg outbite the big onearchaic:decease
- ▪ (of a government or leader) lose office or be overthrown: "six months later the government fell as a result of mass strikes" Similar surrenderyieldsubmitgive ingive upgive waycapitulatesuccumbbe overthrown bybe taken bybe defeated bybe conquered bybe overcome bybe overwhelmed bylose one's position topass into the hands offall victim toOpposite resist
- ▪ yield to temptation: archaic "it is their husbands' fault if wives do fall"
- 5. pass into a specified state, situation, or position: "she fell pregnant" Similar becomecome/get to begrowgetturn
- ▪ occur or take place: "when night fell we crawled back to our lines" Similar occurtake placehappencome aboutcome to passcomearriveappearoccurarisematerialize
- ▪ be classified in the way specified: "canals fall within the Minister's brief"
noun
- 1. an act of falling or collapsing: "his mother had a fall as she alighted from a train" Similar tumbletripspilltopplestumbleslipcollapseinformal:nosediveheadercropper
- ▪ a controlled act of falling, especially as a stunt or in martial arts: "rolling properly into a fall minimizes hurt"
- ▪ a move which pins the opponent's shoulders on the ground for a count of three.
- ▪ a downward difference in height between parts of a surface: "at the corner of the massif this fall is interrupted by other heights of considerable stature" Similar descentdeclivityslopedownward slopedownward slantinclinedowngradeOpposite ascent
- 2. a thing which falls or has fallen: "in October came the first fall of snow"
- ▪ a sudden onset or arrival: "the fall of darkness"
- ▪ a waterfall or cascade: "we camped upriver from the falls" Similar waterfallcascadecataractchutetorrentrapidswhite waterforcearchaic:linn
- ▪ a downward turn in a melody: literary "that strain again, it had a dying fall"
- ▪ the way in which something falls or hangs: "the fall of her hair"
- ▪ the parts or petals of a flower which bend downwards, especially the outer perianth segments of an iris.
- 3. a decrease in size, number, rate, or level: "a big fall in unemployment" Similar declinefall-offdropdropping offdecreasecutlesseningloweringdipdiminishingdwindlingreductionplummetplungeslumpdeteriorationdownswinginformal:nosedivecrashlet-upOpposite increase
- 4. a defeat or downfall: "the fall of the Roman Empire" Similar downfallruinruinationcollapsefailuredeclinedeteriorationdegenerationdestructionoverthrowdemisesurrendersurrenderingcapitulationyieldinggiving insubmissionacquiescencesuccumbingresignationlaying down of armsdefeatOpposite rise
- ▪ a person's moral decline.
- ▪ the lapse of humankind into a state of sin, ascribed in traditional Jewish and Christian theology to the disobedience of Adam and Eve as described in Genesis. Similar sinsinningwrongdoingtransgressionerroryielding to temptationoffencelapsefall from gracebackslidingoriginal sin
- 5. autumn: North American "that fall Roosevelt was elected to his first term"
- 6. a flock of woodcock: rare "there is a fall of woodcock in the round wood above the dell"
Word Origin Old Englishfallan, 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’.
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