fall
intjEtymology Perhaps from the north-eastern Scottish pronunciation of whale.
fall
verbUK /fɔːl/ · /fɔl/
Etymology
Verb from Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan (“to fall, fail, decay, die, attack”), from Proto-West Germanic *fallan (“to fall”), from Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- (“to collapse, fall; to destroy”). Cognates Cognate with Scots faw (“to fall”), Yola vale, vall, vole (“to fall”), North Frisian faal, fåle (“to fall”), Saterland Frisian faale (“to fall”), West Frisian falle (“to fall”), Bavarian foin (“to fall”), Cimbrian ballan, vallan (“to fall”), Dutch vallen (“to fall”), German and Low German fallen (“to fall”), Luxembourgish falen (“to fall”), Yiddish פֿאַלן (faln, “to fall”), Danish falde (“to fall”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish falla (“to fall”), Norwegian Bokmål falle (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk falla, falle (“to fall”); also Latin aboleō (“to destroy; to die”), Ancient Greek ὄλλῡμι (óllūmi, “to destroy; to lose”), Armenian եղեռն (eġeṙn, “crime; calamity, catastrophe; slaughter”), Lithuanian pùlti (“to fall; to attack, assault”). Noun from Middle English fal, fall, falle, from Old English feall, ġefeall (“a falling, fall”) and Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”). Cognate with Yola vall (“fall”), Dutch val (“fall”), German Fall (“fall”), Danish fald (“fall”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish fall (“fall”). Sense of "autumn" is attested by the 1660s in England as a shortening of fall of the leaf (1540s), from the falling of leaves during this season. Along with autumn, it mostly replaced the older name harvest as that name began to be associated strictly with the act of harvesting. Compare spring, which began as a shortening of “spring of the leaf”.
25 senses
- 1To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
- 2To come down, to drop or descend.
- 3To come as if by dropping down.
- 4To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.
- 5To be brought to the ground.
- 6To let fall; to drop.
- 7To sink; to depress.
- 8To fell; to cut down.
- 9To become (chiefly used with negative states).
- 10To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated.
- 11To die, especially in battle or by disease.
- 12To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.).
- 13To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or…
- 14To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or…
- 15To diminish; to lessen or lower.
- 16To bring forth.
- 17To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of…
- 18To descend in character or reputation; to become…
- 19To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
- 20To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become…
- 21To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
- 22To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
- 23To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
- 24To hang down (under the influence of gravity).
- 25To visit; to go to a place.
› To be moved downwards.
1
Heading To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
- Thrown from a cliff, the stone fell 100 feet before hitting the ground.
- I fell unconscious on the floor.
1 more example
- There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0091:
2
Heading To come down, to drop or descend.
- The rain fell at dawn.
- Her eyes fell on the table, and she advanced into the room wiping her hands on her apron.1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond:
1 more example
- The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out the dysgenic fertility theory as a driver of falling IQ scores and highlighting the role of environmental factors instead.2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN:
3
Heading To come as if by dropping down.
- Once or twice a noise fell upon his quick ear, and we halted, he standing revolver in hand in an attitude of defense. Each time, however, we ascertained that we had no occasion for alarm, the noise being made by some animal or bird ...1898, William Le Queux, Whoso Findeth a Wife, page 256:
- And then a sudden calm fell on us like a cloud of fear. There! on the table, lay the Jewel of Seven Stars, shining and sparkling with lurid light, as though each of the seven points of each of the seven stars gleamed through blood!1904, Bram Stoker, The Jewel of Seven Stars, page 248:
2 more examples
- Shortly afterwards a breeze came up from the N […] dark clouds closing in over everything. At 3 in the afternoon the breeze came up from the S with a thick drizzle. Thus night fell, and thus we passed the rest of it.1971, Henry Raup Wagner, Spanish Explorations in the Strait of Juan de Fuca
- The horse wrangler, a tall, bronzed-face man, waved to the wagon driver. The driver laughed. […] The canvas cover rolled up suddenly and a terrible noise fell over the desert.1981, Dan Kirby, Schreiber's Choice, Ace Books, →ISBN:
4
Heading To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.
- He fell to the floor and begged for mercy.
5
Heading To be brought to the ground.
› To move downwards.
6
Obsolete To let fall; to drop.
- For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds.1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
- Ghoaſt [of Clarence]. […] / To morrow in the battaile thinke on me, / And fall thy edgeleſſe ſword, diſpaire and die.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
7
Obsolete To sink; to depress.
- to fall the voice
› To change, often negatively.
9
In idiomatic expressions To become (chiefly used with negative states).
- Near-synonyms: become, get, go, turn, come, grow, wax
- She has fallen ill.
4 more examples
- The children fell asleep in the back of the car.
- When did you first fall in love?
- fall silent, fall sick, fall pregnant, fall victim to something
- At length they stood at the corner from which they had begun, and it had fallen quite dark, and they were no wiser.1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, chapter 1, in Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC, 1st book (Poverty), page 27:
10
To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated.
- Rome fell to the Goths in 410 AD.
11
Euphemistic, Formal To die, especially in battle or by disease.
- This is a monument to all those who fell in the First World War.
12
To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.).
- The candidate's poll ratings fell abruptly after the banking scandal.
- The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished.1612, John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued:
2 more examples
- Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.1835, Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross, Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage …, Vol.1, pages 284–5:
- Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
13
To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); to happen.
- Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday.
- Last year, Commencement fell on June 3.
1 more example
- (Thus D-day fell on June 6 rather than the planned June 5.)1978, Dwight David Eisenhower, Mamie Doud Eisenhower, Letters to Mamie, Doubleday Books:
14
To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
- And so it falls to me to make this important decision.
- The estate fell to his brother.
2 more examples
- The kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.
- If to her share some female errors fall, / Look on her face, and you'll forget them all.1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto II:
15
Obsolete To diminish; to lessen or lower.
- Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities.1691, [John Locke], Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1692, →OCLC:
16
Obsolete To bring forth.
- to fall lambs
- The shepherd[…]did[…] fall part-colour'd lambsc. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
17
Obsolete To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
- As for Calves newly fallen, you must leave them with good Litter of fresh Straw until such qime as the Cows have licked and cleansed them,1672, The Office of the Good House-wife, page 27:
- My intended remarks are on the cords , and wiping dry the newly fallen calf1805, John Lawrence, A general treatise on cattle, the ox, the sheep, and the swine, etc, page 100:
2 more examples
- another writer, adopting a similar opinion, affirms that it results from the lambs not being docked at a sufficiently early period; for "sometimes the ewe, in the ardour of her maternal affection, chews away the tail from her newly-fallen lamb, and none of these are afterwards affectd by the sturdy;1869, William Youatt, Sheep: Their Breeds, Management, and Diseases, page 382:
- The newly fallen lambs are a peculiar sight, as they invariably come spotted or black ; but while the head and legs retain their inky black color, the wool grows out white as with the other Down breeds.1892, United States. Bureau of Animal Industry, Special Report on the History and Present Condition of the Sheep Industry of the United States, page 422:
18
To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
- Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 4:1:
19
To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
- to fall into error; to fall into difficulties; to fall into ruin
20
To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
- Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:5:
- I have observed of late thy looks are fallen.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iv, page 8:
21
To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
- Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ruth 3:18:
- […]An the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
2 more examples
- […] Polybius tells us, the beſt Government is that which conſiſts of three Forms, Regno, Optimatium, & Populi imperio. Which may be fairly Tranſlated, the Kings, Lords and Commons. […] the Romans fell upon this Model purely by chance, (which I take to have been Nature and common Reaſon) but the Spartans by Thought and Deſign.1701, [Jonathan Swift], “Chapter I”, in A Discourse of the Contests and Dissensions between the Nobles and the Commons in Athens and Rome, with the Consequences They Had upon Both Those States, London: […] John Nutt […], →OCLC, page 9:
- 1879, Herbert Spencer, Principles of Sociology Volume II – Part IV: Ceremonial Institutions Primitive men […] do not make laws, they fall into customs.
22
To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry.
- After arguing, they fell to blows.
- They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart and soul.1881, Benjamin Jowett (Thucydides)
23
To be dropped or uttered carelessly.
- An unguarded expression fell from his lips.
24
Of a fabric To hang down (under the influence of gravity).
- An Empire-style dress has a high waistline – directly under the bust – from which the dress falls all the way to a hem as low as the floor.
- Her hair, which curled naturally, fell all over her shoulders.1878, Gaius Petronius Arbiter, translated by Walter Keating Kelly, Satyricon:
1 more example
- The flutters of drapery falling from the arms of the two angels in the upper compartment of the ivory, recall those falling from the right-hand arm of the elder to the left in Houvet's Plate 50.1923, Arthur Kingsley Porter, Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads, volume 1, Marshall Jones Company, page 163:
- Synonyms
- drop, plummet, plunge, come down, descend, lower oneself, prostrate oneself, be beat by, be defeat by, be overthrow by, be smitten by, be vanquish by, die, be the responsibility of, be up to, dip, become, get, cut down, fell, knock down, knock over, strike down
- Antonyms
- ascend, go up, rise, get up, pick oneself up, stand up, beat, defeat, overthrow, smite, vanquish
- Derived terms
223 terms
almost fall off one's chair, fall off one's chair, nearly fall off one's chair, atfall, befall, bottom falls out, catch a falling knife, chip-fell-out-of-a-oak, downfall, easy as falling off a log, fair fall, fallable, fall aboard, fall aboard of, fall about, fall about someone's ears, fall about the place, fall abreast of, fall abroad of, fall across, fall adown, fall afire, fall afoul, fall afoul of, fall after, fallage, fall all over someone or oneself, fall among, fall apart, fall around, fall asleep, fall aslope, fall astern, fall asunder, fall at, fall at the crest, fall at the final hurdle, fall at the first fence, fall at the first hurdle, fall at the last hurdle, fall away, fall-back, fall back, fall back, fall edge, fall back into, fall back on, fall back upon, fall behind, fall behindhand, fall below, fall between the cracks, fall between two stools, fall by, fall by the wayside, fall calm, fall classic, fall dead, fall down, fall down on, fall due, fallen, faller, fall flat, fall flat on one's face, fall for, fall forth, fall foul, fall foul of, fall foul with, fall from, fall from grace, fall heir, fall home, fall ill, fall in, fall in age, fall in flesh, fall in for, falling, falling block, falling in love, falling off the bone, falling-out, falling out, falling together, fall in line, fall in love, fall in lust, fall in mold, fall in mould, fall in one's road, fall in one's way, fall in somebody's heart, fall in someone's heart, fall in somebody's mind, fall in someone's mind, fall into, fall into a trap, fall into line, fall into oneself, fall into one's hands, fall into one's lap, fall into place, fall into somebody's heart, fall into someone's heart, fall into somebody's mind, fall into someone's mind, fall into someone's hands, fall into someone's lap, fall into the wrong hands, fall in two, fall in upon, fall in with, fall of, fall off, fall off a cliff, fall off a truck, fall off one's perch, fall off the back of a lorry, fall off the back of a truck, fall off the cliff, fall off the radar, fall off the turnip truck, fall off the wagon, fall of the wall, fall on, fall on a grenade, fall on board, fall on deaf ears, fall one's crest, fall on hard times, fall on one's face, fall on one's feet, fall on one's knees, fall on one's sword, fall on shore, fall on sleep, fall on someone's neck, fall on stony ground, fall on the crest, fall open, fall out, fall out in, fall out of, fall out of favor, fall out of love, fall out upon, fall out with, fall over, fall over oneself, fall over one's feet, fall pregnant, fall prey, fall prey to, fall short, fall short of, fall short to, fall sick, fall silent, fallstreaks, fallstreifen, fall through, fall through the cracks, fall through the floor, fall to, fall to be, fall to bits, fall together, fall to loggerheads, fall to mold, fall to mould, fall to oneself, fall to one's knees, fall to one's lot, fall to one's share, fall to pieces, fall to powder, fall to someone's lot, fall to the ground, fall under, fall unto, fall up, fall upon, fall upon someone's neck, fall victim to, fall what can fall, fall what will fall, fall with, fall within, fell, foul fall, he who digs a pit for others falls in himself, how the mighty have fallen, let fall, let the chips fall where they may, let the dice fall where they may, like falling off a log, may fall, may-fall, misfall, of-fall, overfall, refall, scales fall from someone's eyes, spring forward, fall back, tendency of the rate of profit to fall, the apple does not fall far from the stem, the apple does not fall far from the tree, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, the apple never falls far from the tree, the apple does not fall far from the trunk, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, the bigger they come, the harder they fall, the curtain falls, the nut does not fall far from the tree, the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain, the sky fell in, the sky will fall on your head, to-fall, trust-falling, under-fall, united we stand, divided we fall, until the wheels fall off