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 During the intervening time, suspicion had fallen on the family. — Paula Allen, ExpressNews.com, "Farmer buried in San Antonio East Side cemetery suffered ‘unspeakable horror’ at farm near Yorktown," 21 Mar. 2020 The Dow has fallen nearly 35% since Apple issued its coronavirus warning, posting shock declines on March 9 (-7.8%), March 12 (-10%) and March 16 (-12.9%). — Charles Riley, CNN, "30 days that brought the world to the brink of a depression," 21 Mar. 2020 And already, dozens of health care workers across the country have fallen ill. — Amelia Nierenberg, New York Times, "Where Are All the Masks?," 21 Mar. 2020 In my lifetime there have been three bear markets in which the value of shares in aggregate has fallen by half. — The Economist, "Buttonwood The agonies of stock-picking in a falling market," 21 Mar. 2020 The Dow has fallen that much, points-wise, since its Feb. 12 high of 29,551, a 32% drop. — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, "The global markets climb even as the coronavirus death rate soars," 20 Mar. 2020 Annual revenue from tax has fallen below $2 billion. — Ciara Nugent, Time, "Could the Coronavirus Topple Nicolas Maduro's Regime in Venezuela?," 20 Mar. 2020 Tracking down Lisa’s real identity Lisa’s adoption to the Deckers’ daughter had fallen through in the ‘80s because the adoption papers were never signed. — Lauren Effron, ABC News, "How a Jane Doe child case uncovered a serial killer, identified victims and changed the use of DNA forensics," 19 Mar. 2020 Ford's stock price has fallen percipitously in just the past month. — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, "Ford dividend cut a sign of more coronavirus troubles ahead," 19 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun New iPhones are still on track Apple is still working on a new iPhone for the fall, Bloomberg's sources said this week. — Don Reisinger, Fortune, "Coronavirus doesn’t stop Apple from debuting new devices," 21 Mar. 2020 In-person evaluations will have to wait for the fall, when coaches will look to make high school visits after the Roadrunners complete their morning practices. — Greg Luca, ExpressNews.com, "UTSA coach Jeff Traylor taking spring practice, recruiting digital in wake of shutdown due to coronavirus," 20 Mar. 2020 Spring football is an optimal time for the coaches to continue building a foundation for their new team and set the tone for the fall. — Destine Gibson, Dallas News, "The 5 biggest issues facing Baylor as it heads into hiatus, including defensive uncertainties," 19 Mar. 2020 But right now planners are trying to reschedule their clients' weddings for the fall. — Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, "Social distancing is hammering these small businesses," 18 Mar. 2020 Students still can choose to submit their scores when applying to CWRU for the fall of 2021. — Emily Bamforth, cleveland, "Case Western Reserve University scraps SAT, ACT admissions requirement for fall 2021 due to coronavirus cancellations," 18 Mar. 2020 Journal reported in early January that Tennessee had scheduled games with Alabama and Vanderbilt for the fall. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, "Shut down college football in state of Alabama? It’s happened twice before," 15 Mar. 2020 The New Directors/New Films festival, set to open March 25, and the Chaplin Award Gala, honoring Spike Lee, originally scheduled for April 27, will be rescheduled for the fall. — New York Times, "Broadway, Other New York Arts Events, Canceled Because of Virus," 13 Mar. 2020 The National Book Critics Circle Award Ceremony is also canceled, with winners being announced online and on social media, while its gala has been rescheduled for the fall. — Megan Mccluskey, Time, "Here's Your Comprehensive Guide to All the Events Canceled Because of the Coronavirus," 13 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective While fall isn’t quite here yet (the season officially starts in three days, even though Walmart decor indicates otherwise), what is here is fall festival season. — al, "Alabama Fair Food: Pickle Pizza, Gator on a Stick and Fried Snickers in Birmingham," 20 Sep. 2019 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

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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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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