Synonyms of fall behind

fall behind

phrase

as in delay

to move or act slowly

He lost his footing and fell behind in the relay.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delay
• linger
• drag
• crawl
• poke
• drop behind
• mark time
• hang fire
• stroll
• play
• creep
• lag
• loiter
• stall
• shuffle
• drag one's feet
• dawdle
• take one's time
• diddle
• mope
• lounge
• tarry
• lollygag
• fiddle (around)
• dillydally
• fool around
• potter (around)
• putter (around)
• dally
• idle
• hang (around or out)
• monkey (around)
• mess around
• stagger
• slow (down or up)
• shilly-shally
• trifle
• loaf
• saunter
• inch
• amble
• ease
• decelerate
• loll
• lumber
• temporize
• procrastinate
• filibuster
• plod

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• course
• race
• fly
• speed
• run
• career
• hurry
• rush
• tear
• rocket
• bolt
• barrel
• hasten
• rip
• dash
• zip
• breeze
• scurry
• whiz
• bowl
• whirl
• whisk
• scramble
• hump
• run
• stampede
• dart
• speed (up)
• hustle
• hotfoot (it)
• gallop
• trot
• jog
• accelerate
• scoot
• sprint
• catch up
• scud
• hurtle
• quicken
• overtake
• outrun
• outstrip
• outpace
• fast-forward

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fall behind

The Magic jumped out to a 13-4 lead over Boston behind two 3-pointers from Bane, but the team actually fell behind 24-23 after the first quarter. — Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2026

Strategy quality is not where most companies actually fall behind. — Amer Al Ahbabi, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026

The Hawks fell behind in the first quarter and couldn’t climb out of the deficit. — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Greenhouse emissions remained high, fossil fuels continued to dominate the energy market, and countries eventually fell behind on their climate goals. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026