fall·out
ˈfȯl-ˌau̇t 
1
a
: the often radioactive particles stirred up by or resulting from a nuclear explosion and descending through the atmosphere
also
: other polluting particles (such as volcanic ash) descending likewise
b
: descent (as of fallout) through the atmosphere
2
: a secondary and often lingering effect, result, or set of consequences
have to take a position and accept the political fallout—
Andy Logan
Andy Logan
fell out; fallen out; falling out; falls out
1
: quarrel
also
: to cut off relations over a quarrel
former friends who have fallen out
3
a
: to leave one's place in the ranks
b
: to leave a building in order to take one's place in a military formation
Synonyms
Examples of fallout in a Sentence
Noun
concerned about the possible political fallout from the scandal
Verb
club members were soon falling out about how to spend the money they'd made washing cars
I had planned to have a sports career, but things fell out otherwise.
Recent Examples on the WebKyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
After several rocky quarters of navigating pandemic-era fallout, fashion e-commerce platform Rent the Runway is flying high, thanks to its restructuring efforts—and its decision to lean into AI.
—Bysasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
That means some aid offers might not reach students until after the traditional May 1 decision deadline — or even beyond those that have been extended further to deal with the fallout.
—Haley Messenger, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
The fallout helped enable the GOP to capture unified control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.
—TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
The economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, which hobbled the lodging and travel industries worldwide and in the Bay Area, helped to torpedo the hotel development proposal.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
The fallout of that relationship, combined with the ongoing transphobia of both Gotham at large and Joker’s mother in particular, is what leads this woman to turn on society and embrace her true self.
—Abraham Josephine Riesman, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
The singer’s recording contract with Big Loud Records was suspended indefinitely at the time, among other career fallout.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Among the fallouts from the crisis professor Gomes foresees is a sharp decline in the value of the dollar as interest rates spiral higher.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2024
Benjamin Nugent, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
Such agreements had mostly fallen out of favor after the Cold War.
—Samuel Charap, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
During our rehearsal, the actor that was supposed to play that role fell out.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
Since his head was cut off, the sun or moon just falls out the hole where his neck used to be.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Humphries tossed Kim into the ocean and her earring fell out.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
But the moon's position changes in orbit while the planet turns as the day goes on, and their calibration with the sun eventually falls out of alignment.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2024
The magazine fell out, and Brad Duncan reached for a spare magazine in his pocket to reload, but Scott E. Duncan held his arm down.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Proposals to reduce the cost of big federal benefit programs, which were a GOP hallmark pre-Trump, have fallen out of favor.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Noun
Google is also currently changing its Incognito Mode to actually delete browser history in the fallout of a class action lawsuit over the privacy mode’s limitations.
—Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
After several rocky quarters of navigating pandemic-era fallout, fashion e-commerce platform Rent the Runway is flying high, thanks to its restructuring efforts—and its decision to lean into AI.
—Bysasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
That means some aid offers might not reach students until after the traditional May 1 decision deadline — or even beyond those that have been extended further to deal with the fallout.
—Haley Messenger, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024
The fallout helped enable the GOP to capture unified control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.
—TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
The economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, which hobbled the lodging and travel industries worldwide and in the Bay Area, helped to torpedo the hotel development proposal.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
The fallout of that relationship, combined with the ongoing transphobia of both Gotham at large and Joker’s mother in particular, is what leads this woman to turn on society and embrace her true self.
—Abraham Josephine Riesman, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
The singer’s recording contract with Big Loud Records was suspended indefinitely at the time, among other career fallout.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
Among the fallouts from the crisis professor Gomes foresees is a sharp decline in the value of the dollar as interest rates spiral higher.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2024
Verb
Usually, one or two of the little guys would fall out.
—Benjamin Nugent, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
Such agreements had mostly fallen out of favor after the Cold War.
—Samuel Charap, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2024
During our rehearsal, the actor that was supposed to play that role fell out.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024
Since his head was cut off, the sun or moon just falls out the hole where his neck used to be.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Humphries tossed Kim into the ocean and her earring fell out.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
But the moon's position changes in orbit while the planet turns as the day goes on, and their calibration with the sun eventually falls out of alignment.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2024
The magazine fell out, and Brad Duncan reached for a spare magazine in his pocket to reload, but Scott E. Duncan held his arm down.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Proposals to reduce the cost of big federal benefit programs, which were a GOP hallmark pre-Trump, have fallen out of favor.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fallout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fallout
Cite this Entry
“Fallout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fallout. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fallout
1 of 2 noun
fall·out
ˈfȯ-ˌlau̇t
: the often radioactive particles that are stirred up by or result from a nuclear explosion and descend through the atmosphere
fall out
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)fȯ-ˈlau̇t
1
: to have a quarrel
2
Medical Definition
fallout
noun
fall·out
ˈfȯ-ˌlau̇t
1
: the often radioactive particles stirred up by or resulting from a nuclear explosion and descending through the atmosphere
also
: other polluting particles (as volcanic ash) descending likewise
2
: descent (as of fallout) through the atmosphere
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