befall
verb /bɪˈfɔːl/
/bɪˈfɔːl/
used only in the third person (literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they befall | /bɪˈfɔːl/ /bɪˈfɔːl/ |
| he / she / it befalls | /bɪˈfɔːlz/ /bɪˈfɔːlz/ |
| past simple befell | /bɪˈfel/ /bɪˈfel/ |
| past participle befallen | /bɪˈfɔːlən/ /bɪˈfɔːlən/ |
| -ing form befalling | /bɪˈfɔːlɪŋ/ /bɪˈfɔːlɪŋ/ |
- something befalls somebody (of something unpleasant) to happen to somebody
- They were unaware of the fate that was to befall them.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryBefall is used with these nouns as the subject:- disaster
- fate
- misfortune
- …
Word OriginOld English befeallan ‘to fall’ (early use being mainly figurative); related to German befallen.