deadfall

noun

dead·​fall ˈded-ˌfȯl 

1

: a trap so constructed that a weight (such as a heavy log) falls on an animal and kills or disables it

2

: a tangled mass of fallen trees and branches

Examples of deadfall in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scout Island, on the north side of the park, is particularly riven through with odd trails and random stick deadfalls. — Outside, 17 Feb. 2026

Meanwhile, the entire West was on fire, trails already choked with deadfall from decades-ago blazes even as new ones torched millions more acres every season. — Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025

After spending the morning clearing deadfall, the crew was returning to their vehicles at the pace of the creeper machine, a mini excavator that can plow a new path through difficult terrain. — Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 20 Oct. 2025

And that’s the real danger when the trail is wet—climbing over, under, or around fresh deadfall when going downhill on slippery ground. — Grayson Haver Currin, Outside Online, 20 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for deadfall

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale