fall line

noun

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

Definition of fall line

1 : a line joining the waterfalls on numerous rivers that marks the point where each river descends from the upland to the lowland and the limit of the navigability of each river

2 : the natural downhill course (as for skiing) between two points on a slope

Recent Examples of fall line from the Web

Many compare it to the fashion industry: clubs cannot afford, in June and July, to be coming up with their fall lines now.

— rory smith, New York Times, "When the World’s Greatest Soccer Players Gather, Scouts Stay Away," 5 July 2018
These Zoe drones—which can carry 26 lbs, fly for 40 minutes, and cost around $15,000 each—can spot fallen lines and thread those lines through the poles, saving volunteers lots of time and money.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Drones Are Helping Restore Power in Puerto Rico," 5 Mar. 2018
Skiers use the bumps to make sharp turns while keeping to a fall line.

— magan crane, The Seattle Times, "What to watch from Pyeongchang — Day 3," 11 Feb. 2018
There is a fall line at the end that is used as a judging mark.

— charlotte carroll, SI.com, "A Rookie's Guide to Ski Jumping at the 2018 Winter Olympics," 6 Dec. 2017

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