fell

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈfel 

1

: skin, hide, pelt

2

: a thin tough membrane covering a carcass directly under the hide

fell

2 of 6

verb

felled; felling; fells

transitive verb

1

a

: to cut, knock, or bring down

fell a tree

b

: kill

Her father was felled by a heart attack.

2

: to sew (a seam) by folding one raw edge under the other and sewing flat on the wrong side

fellable

ˈfe-lə-bəl 

adjective

feller noun

fell

3 of 6

past tense of fall

fell

4 of 6

adjective

1

a

: fierce, cruel, terrible

b

: sinister, malevolent

a fell purpose

c

: very destructive : deadly

a fell disease

2

Scotland : sharp, pungent

fellness noun

fell

5 of 6

noun (2)

dialectal British

: a high barren field or moor

fellness

6 of 6

noun

fell·​ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being fell : extreme cruelty, harshness, or destructiveness of character or effect

a fellness of aspect

the fellness of the blow staggered him

Synonyms of fell

Verb

• down
• drop
• hit
• floor

Adjective

• lethal
• deadly
• fatal
• infectious

Examples of fell in a Sentence

Verb

using an ax to fell a tree

He's strong enough to fell an ox.

Adjective

planning for the distribution of resources in case of some fell event

war crimes committed by a fell and barbarous enemy

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The team can help plan reindeer and husky rides, reindeer farm visits, snowmobiles tours across the area’s fells and taiga forests, or Aurora-chasing tours, guided by local experts. — Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2025

There, Gordon Davison and Peter Lockey founded a small shop in 1966 to create exacting outdoor gear, testing it on northeast England’s rainswept fells and higher peaks abroad. — Jeff Moag, Outside, 24 Nov. 2025

Verb

And those are the lucky ones, who weren’t felled by late-season injuries and bumped from the tournament the way Brazil’s Rodrygo, Japan’s Kaoru Mitoma and Germany’s Serge Gnabry were. — Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 11 June 2026

There was also a giant tree stretching across Laflin Street about a block from the scene of the fire, after being felled by the storms on Wednesday. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 11 June 2026

Adjective

Many are in such fiscal distress that they may well be tempted to host data centers for the potential property-tax bonanza that could bail them out in one fell swoop. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2026

Those types of drifts rarely appear in one fell swoop. — Polina Beletskaya, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German fel skin, Latin pellis

Verb

Middle English, from Old English fellan; akin to Old English feallan to fall — more at fall

Adjective

Middle English fel, from Anglo-French — more at felon

Noun (2)

Middle English, from Old Norse fell, fjall mountain; akin to Old High German felis rock

Noun

Middle English felnes, from fel fell + -nes -ness

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing fell

• fell into the habit
• fell silent
• in/at one fell swoop

Rhymes for fell

• bel
• belle
• cel
• cell
• dell
• dwell
• el
• ell
• fel
• gel
• gell
• jell

Kids Definition

fell

1 of 3 verb

ˈfel 

1

a

: to cut, beat, or knock down

fell trees

b

: kill entry 1 sense 1

2

: to sew (a seam) by folding one edge under the other

fell

2 of 3

past of fall entry 1

fell

3 of 3 adjective

: fierce sense 1, cruel

also : deadly entry 1 sense 1, deadly entry 1 sense 2a

Etymology

Verb

Old English fellan "to knock down"

Adjective

Middle English fel "fierce, terrible," from early French fel (same meaning), from fel, felon "villain, evildoer" — related to felon