fall

\ ˈfȯl

How to pronounce fall (audio)

\

fell\ ˈfel

How to pronounce fell (audio)

\; fallen\ ˈfȯ-lən

How to pronounce fallen (audio)

\; falling

Definition of fall

(Entry 1 of 3)

intransitive verb

1a : to descend freely by the force of gravity An apple fell from the tree.

b : to hang freely her hair falls over her shoulders

c : to drop oneself to a lower position fell to his knees

d : to come or go as if by falling darkness falls early in the winter

2 : to become born —usually used of lambs

3a : to become lower in degree or level the temperature fell 10°

b : to drop in pitch or volume their voices fell to a whisper

c : issue sense 1a wisdom that fell from his lips

d : to become lowered her eyes fell

4a : to leave an erect position suddenly and involuntarily slipped and fell on the ice

b : to enter as if unawares : stumble, stray fell into error We fell into a trap.

c : to drop down wounded or dead especially : to die in battle Many men fell on the battlefield.

d : to suffer military capture after a long siege the city fell

e : to lose office the party fell from power

f : to suffer ruin, defeat, or failure the deal fell through

5 : to commit an immoral act but man willfully misused his God-given freedom and fell into sin— John Hick especially : to lose one's chastity

6a : to move or extend in a downward direction the land falls away to the east

b : subside, abate the wind is falling

c : to decline in quality, activity, or quantity production fell off

d : to lose weight —used with off or awayThe cattle have fallen off badly in the drought.

e : to assume a look of shame, disappointment, or dejection his face fell

f : to decline in financial value or price stocks fell sharply

7a : to occur at a certain time her birthday falls on a Monday this year

b : to come by chance a job that fell into his hands

c : to come or pass by lot, assignment, or inheritance : devolve it fell to him to break the news

d : to have a certain or proper position, place, or station the accent falls on the second syllable

8 : to come within the limits, scope, or jurisdiction of something this word falls into the class of verbs

9 : to pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind or a new state or condition fall asleep fall in love

10 : to set about heartily or actively fell to work

11 : strike, impinge music falling on the ear

transitive verb

fall all over oneself or fall over oneself or fall over backward

: to display great or excessive eagerness Fans were falling all over themselves trying to get the basketball star's autograph.

fall apart

1 : disintegrate The pie was falling apart as I served it.

2 : to succumb to mental or emotional stress : break down She began to fall apart when her son was imprisoned.

fall behind

1 : to lag behind The slower hikers fell behind the group.

2 : to be in arrears He fell behind in his car payments.

fall between two stools

: to fail because of inability to choose between or reconcile two alternative or conflicting courses of action

fall flat

: to produce no response or result the joke fell flat

fall for

1 : to fall in love with He fell for her the moment he saw her.

2 : to become a victim of fell for the trick

fall from grace

: to lose acceptance or good reputation The governor fell from grace when he was accused of tax fraud.

fall home

: to curve inward —used of the timbers or upper parts of a ship's side

fall into line

: to comply with a certain course of action The company fell into line with the new regulations.

fall on or fall upon

: to meet with fell on hard times

fall on one's face

: to fail utterly the movie fell on its face at the box office

fall on one's sword

: to sacrifice one's pride or position The coach fell on his sword apologizing for the team's poor season.

fall short

1 : to be deficient The expedition's supplies began to fall short.

2 : to fail to attain something (such as a goal or target) The results fell short of expectations.

fall

Definition of fall (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : the act of falling by the force of gravity

2a : a falling out, off, or away : dropping the fall of leaves a fall of snow

b : the season when leaves fall from trees : autumn

c : a thing or quantity that falls or has fallen a fall of rock at the base of the cliff especially : one or more meteorites or their fragments that have fallen together

d(1) : birth

(2) : the quantity born —usually used of lambs

3a : a costume decoration of lace or thin fabric arranged to hang loosely and gracefully

b : a very wide turned-down collar worn in the 17th century

c : the part of a turnover collar from the crease to the outer edge

d : a wide front flap on trousers (such as those worn by sailors)

e : the freely hanging lower edge of the skirt of a coat

f : one of the three outer and often drooping segments of the flower of an iris

g : long hair overhanging the face of dogs of some breeds

h : a usually long straight portion of hair that is attached to a person's own hair

4 : a hoisting-tackle rope or chain especially : the part of it to which the power is applied

5a : loss of greatness : collapse the fall of the Roman Empire

b : the surrender or capture of a besieged place the fall of Troy

c : lapse or departure from innocence or goodness

d : loss of a woman's chastity

e : the blame for a failure or misdeed took the fall for the robbery

6a : the downward slope (as of a hill) : declivity

b : a precipitous descent of water : waterfall —usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction

c : a musical cadence

d : a falling-pitch intonation in speech

7 : a decrease in size, quantity, degree, or value

8a : the distance which something falls

b : inclination, pitch

9a : the act of felling something

b : the quantity of trees cut down

c(1) : an act of forcing a wrestler's shoulders to the mat for a specified time (such as one second)

(2) : a bout of wrestling

10 Scotland : destiny, lot

fall

Definition of fall (Entry 3 of 3)

: of, relating to, or suitable for autumn a new fall coat

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about fall

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Examples of fall in a Sentence

Verb An apple fell from the tree. A vase fell off the shelf. Rain fell from the sky. the sound of the falling rain She slipped and fell on the ice. He fell flat on his face. She was afraid that I would trip and fall. He fell down the stairs. One of the sailors had fallen overboard. He fell back onto the bed. Noun a fall from a horse She's had several bad falls in recent years. a fall of three feet the rise and fall of the tide She went off to college in the fall. Several weeks of fall remain before winter begins. When fall came he planted grass. a fall in the price of oil

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Over the month, the number of people out of work fell by 31,000 to 12.33 million. — Washington Post, "Eurozone unemployment’s falls to lowest rate since July 2008," 29 Nov. 2019 Compared to a year earlier, beer exports to South Korea fell 92% in August and 99.9% in September before finally hitting rock bottom in October, according to trade data from Japan's finance ministry. — Sherisse Pham, CNN, "South Korea didn't buy any beer from Japan last month," 29 Nov. 2019 The Terps fell behind 9-0 in the opening minutes and trailed 35-31 at halftime. — BostonGlobe.com, "Cowan followed up on a 30-point performance in the previous day’s come-from-behind win over Temple with 10 points and an assist during a 12-4 burst that sparked a game-closing surge by the Terrapins (7-0), who have won seven straight to begin a season for the first time in three years.," 29 Nov. 2019 National multifamily sales volume fell by 7 percent. — Katherine Feser, Houston Chronicle, "Investors pump less money into Houston real estate in Q3," 29 Nov. 2019 Then the Cowboys fell apart in all three phases of the game. — Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, "Buffalo Bills make statement with win over error-prone Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day," 29 Nov. 2019 Yet, at the same time, participation with others in bowling leagues fell by 40%. — John Carlisle, Freep.com, "Polka, bingo and fish fries are slowly saving VFW post in Michigan's U.P.," 29 Nov. 2019 Pilot Peter Weber fell and cut his face while playing golf in Costa Rica Peter Weber is back in action! — Alexia Fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "The Bachelor's Peter Weber Shows Off His Scar Almost 2 Months After Face Injury," 28 Nov. 2019 Carolyn fell soon after her surgery, putting her in a coma and almost killing her. — Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, "Cleveland-area real-estate agent pushes to add Nursing Facility Patients’ Bill of Rights to Ohio Constitution," 27 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Climate change protests seemed to intensify in the fall with thousands skipping school during September's climate strike. — Fox News, "Climate protesters block stores, disrupt Black Friday shopping," 30 Nov. 2019 San Francisco developer Shorenstein Properties first started construction on what would become Blue Shield’s building in the fall of 2008, but suspended work soon after the recession began. — Roland Li, SFChronicle.com, "Why downtown Oakland is booming," 29 Nov. 2019 The central Virginia Piedmont, a few hours southwest of Washington, D.C., is a region of rolling foothills ablaze with color in the fall, winding roads that lead to now thriving vineyards, and small towns with big charms (plus tasty pies). — Susan O'keefe, National Geographic, "How to see the Virginia Piedmont? Just follow Thomas Jefferson," 29 Nov. 2019 Many farmers in the Midwest and South whose planting this year was interrupted by wet weather got a break in the fall, though a few Northern states have seen harvest prospects go from bad to worse. — BostonGlobe.com, "First revamped Toys “R” Us opens in mall in New Jersey," 28 Nov. 2019 Kate Wauck, vice president of communications at Wealthfront, moved from New York City to the Bay Area in the fall of 2014. — Kevin Wheeler, USA TODAY, "Holiday travel is expensive: Here's what to tell family when you can't afford to come home," 27 Nov. 2019 Leaves turn to face the sun and drop in the fall, petals open and close daily, animals rest, and bacteria fix nitrogen at rates that are direct responses to periodic and predictable changes in light. — Christopher Preston, Smithsonian, "How Cities and Lights Drive the Evolution of Life," 26 Nov. 2019 Gasoline prices typically decline in the fall with less seasonal demand and the switch to cheaper winter-grade fuels. — Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle, "Fuel prices dip ahead of Thanksgiving holiday," 25 Nov. 2019 The county closes the road each year in the late fall by installing a snow gate near milepost 10. — oregonlive, "Portland metro Monday traffic: I-205 north reopens after early morning deadly crash near Sunnyside," 25 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The right-wing Law and Justice party wants to strengthen its position before fall parliamentary elections. — Washington Post, "EU’s Tusk queried in Poland over his past policy as premier," 17 June 2019 Read more about Macron’s moment of truth on his labor law: QuickTake Q&A Macron’s popularity has declined precipitously ahead of France’s traditional fall protest season. — Mark Deen, Bloomberg.com, "French Unions Fail to Draw Big Crowds Against Macron Reform," 12 Sep. 2017 The battle for fall taste buds is now in full swing. — Editors, USA TODAY, "The Vegas shooting, MH370: Sometimes there are no answers," 3 Oct. 2017 The improved health of local waters is highlighted by the now regular fall appearance of humpback whales feeding on large schools of Atlantic menhaden at the borders of New York harbor, within site of the Empire State Building. — Mark Stoeckle, Smithsonian, "Scientists Can Tell What Fish Live Where Based On DNA in the Water," 13 Apr. 2017 Fall camp practices begin in Auburn today after players reported Sunday and there is much to be determined over the next five weeks. — James Crepea, AL.com, "5 Auburn players with the most to gain during fall camp," 31 July 2017 As these vegetables play themselves out, switch gears and focus on fall vegetables. — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, "Squash looking fried? Time to switch garden gears," 14 July 2017 The improved health of local waters is highlighted by the now regular fall appearance of humpback whales feeding on large schools of Atlantic menhaden at the borders of New York harbor, within site of the Empire State Building. — Mark Stoeckle, Smithsonian, "Scientists Can Tell What Fish Live Where Based On DNA in the Water," 13 Apr. 2017 That should put him on track to at least participate somewhat in fall instructional league in September. — Mike Berardino, Twin Cities, "Twins lose No. 3 prospect Alex Kirilloff for season to Tommy John surgery," 1 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about fall

Dictionary Entries near fall

Falkland Islands

Statistics for fall

Last Updated

2 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Fall.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fall. Accessed 10 December 2019.

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More Definitions for fall

fall

verb

English Language Learners Definition of fall

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to come or go down quickly from a high place or position

: to come or go down suddenly from a standing position

: to let yourself come or go down to a lower position

fall

noun

English Language Learners Definition of fall (Entry 2 of 2)

: the act of coming or going down from a high position or from a standing position

: the act of becoming lower

US : the season between summer and winter : the season when leaves fall from trees

See the full definition for fall in the English Language Learners Dictionary

fall

\ ˈfȯl

\

fell\ ˈfel \; fallen\ ˈfȯ-lən \; falling

Kids Definition of fall

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to come or go down freely by the force of gravity An apple fell from the tree.

2 : to come as if by falling Night fell before we got home.

3 : to become lower (as in degree or value) The temperature fell ten degrees.

4 : to topple from an upright position The tree fell.

5 : to collapse wounded or dead Too many soldiers have fallen in battle.

6 : to become captured The city fell to the enemy.

7 : to occur at a certain time This year my birthday falls on a Monday.

8 : to pass from one condition of body or mind to another fall asleep fall ill

fall back

: retreat entry 2 sense 1 “… the Witch and her crew will … fall back to her house and prepare for a siege.”— C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

fall short

: to fail to be as good or successful as expected The sequel to my favorite movie fell short.

fall

Kids Definition of fall (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act or an instance of going or coming down by the force of gravity a fall from a horse

3 : a thing or quantity that falls a heavy fall of snow

4 : a loss of greatness : downfall the fall of an empire

5 : waterfall —usually used in pl.Niagara Falls

6 : a decrease in size, amount, or value a fall in prices

7 : the distance something falls a fall of three feet

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reiterate

to state or do over again or repeatedly

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