fallverb
uk/fɔːl/us/fɑːl/fell, fallenfall verb (HAVE AN ACCIDENT)
A2 [ I ] to suddenly go down onto the ground or towards the ground without intending to or by accident:
to fall and land with your face down:
More examples
- Keep away from the edge of the cliff - you might fall.
- Hold onto the rail so that you don't fall.
- They were mocking him because he kept falling off his bike.
- She knocked her head against the wall as she fell.
- We heard a splash and then saw that Toni had fallen in the river.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Falling and dropping
- ass
- ass over teakettle idiom
- collapse
- collapse/fall in a heap idiom
- cropper
- crumple
- drop like flies idiom
- drop sb/sth off
- fly
- hit the deck idiom
- let go idiom
- nosedive
- overbalance
- parachutist
- plunge
- pratfall
- put sth/sb down
- shower
- stumble
- wayside
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fall verb (BECOME LOWER)
B1 [ I ] to become lower in size, amount, or strength:
More examples
- The temperature has fallen below zero recently.
- Inflation has fallen below 2%, and that's official.
- The flood waters fell, depositing mud over the whole area.
- Many economists expect unemployment to fall over the next couple of months.
- If your bank account balance falls below the minimum, you'll be nicked for a $5 service charge.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making smaller or less
- a nip (here) and a tuck (there) idiom
- attenuate
- axe
- bite
- bite into sth
- dive
- drain
- let sth down
- let up
- lower
- make a hole in sth idiom
- miniaturization
- minimize
- nip
- slash
- step sth down
- strip sth away
- stripped down
- subside
- tail off
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fall verb (COME DOWN)
A2 [ I ] to come down onto the ground or from a high position to a lower position:
to go down on your knees to show respect:
[ I ] When the curtain falls in the theatre, it comes down because the play or performance has ended:
More examples
- Although the curtain has now fallen on the Republican era, many of its values still remain.
- The fact that aircraft don't fall out of the sky always seems to me to defy the law of gravity.
- The satellite will fragment and burn up as it falls through the earth's atmosphere.
- Her luxuriant hair fell around her shoulders.
- Rain had been falling steadily all day and the ground had become a marsh.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Showing respect and admiration
- admiration
- admire
- admiring
- awe
- awestruck
- glory
- hero worship
- honorific
- honour
- idolatry
- idolize
- impress
- recognition
- regard
- respectful
- reverential
- salute
- sb deserves a medal idiom
- sit at the feet of sb idiom
- stan
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fall verb (BELONG TO)
[ I usually + adv/prep ] to belong to a particular group, subject, or area:
More examples
- They believe that all the outstanding issues should fall within the ambit of the talks.
- What genre does the book fall into - comedy or tragedy?
- This case falls outside the purview of this particular court.
- The matter falls outside his area of jurisdiction.
- This research paper falls outside my own area of expertise.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Duty, obligation and responsibility
- accountable
- answer for sb/sth
- answer for sth
- answer to sb
- answerable
- commitment
- fail
- have sth on your hands idiom
- I am not my brother's keeper idiom
- in the hot seat idiom
- incharge
- it's your own lookout idiom
- portfolio
- responsibility
- responsible
- risk
- saddle sb with sth
- shoulder
- social contract
- stick
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fall verb (BECOME)
B1 [ I + adv/prep, L ] to change to a particular condition from a different one:
More examples
- They let the palace fall into ruin.
- The buildings had started to fall into decay.
- He fell unconscious shortly after the accident.
- Sophia fell ill while on holiday.
- After we'd explained about the change of plan, the children fell strangely quiet for a minute or two.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Changing
- a new broom sweeps clean idiom
- about-turn
- alter
- alternate
- alternation
- bastardize
- convert
- fluid
- move on
- move the goalposts idiom
- move with the times idiom
- new
- new broom
- onto
- swing
- transfigure
- transform
- transitional
- transmogrify
- transmute
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fall verb (BE DEFEATED)
C2 [ I ] to be beaten or defeated:
C2 [ I ] If a place falls in a war or an election, an enemy army or a different political party gets control of it:
[ I ] literary If soldiers fall while fighting, they are killed:
[ I ] UK In cricket, when a wicket falls, the turn of the player who is hitting the ball ends:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Losing and being defeated
- admit
- battering
- capitulate
- defeat
- downfall
- drubbing
- fallen
- give
- give in
- go
- go down
- knuckle under
- leave, go off, etc. with your tail between your legs idiom
- say
- squeaker
- tail
- throw
- throw in the towel idiom 1
- tie
- you win! idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
fall verb (HAPPEN)
C2 [ I ] to come at a particular time or happen in a particular place:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Occurring and happening
- afoot
- assail
- asynchronous
- attendant
- be at work idiom
- become
- come
- come up
- event
- go ahead
- go down
- go hand in hand with sth idiom
- go together
- go with sth
- hand
- happen
- intervene
- materialize
- turn up
- underway
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fall verb (HANG DOWN)
C2 [ I usually + adv/prep ] to hang down loosely:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Hanging and suspending
- cascade
- dangle
- dangly
- drape
- droop
- flow
- hang
- pendant
- pendent
- pendulous
- sag
- saggy
- sling
- slung
- string
- string sth up
- suspend
fall verb (UNHAPPY)
If your face falls, you suddenly look unhappy or disappointed, and if your spirits fall, you suddenly feel unhappy or disappointed:
Idiom(s)
Phrasal verb(s)
fallnoun
uk/fɔːl/us/fɑːl/fall noun (LOWER AMOUNT)
B1 [ C usually singular ] the fact of the size, amount, or strength of something getting lower:
More examples
- The last ten years have seen a dramatic fall in the number of adoptions.
- The City acted swiftly to the news of a fall in the value of sterling.
- Yesterday the company announced its first ever fall in profits.
- The fall in interest rates is excellent news for borrowers.
- There was a larger-than-expected fall in unemployment last month.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making smaller or less
- a nip (here) and a tuck (there) idiom
- attenuate
- axe
- bite
- bite into sth
- dive
- drain
- let sth down
- let up
- lower
- make a hole in sth idiom
- miniaturization
- minimize
- nip
- slash
- step sth down
- strip sth away
- stripped down
- subside
- tail off
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fall noun (SEASON)
[ C or U ] US UK autumn the season after summer and before winter, when fruits and crops become ready to eat and the leaves fall off the trees:
More examples
- In the fall, everyone is out raking up the dead leaves.
- The garden is a blaze of colour in the fall.
- They plan to get married in the fall.
- Check out our new catalog for all the latest fall and winter fashions.
- We were planning a trip to Europe next fall.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Names of months
- autumn
- autumnal
- dead
- depth
- estival
- in the dead of night/winter idiom
- in the depth(s) of winter idiom
- midsummer
- monsoon
- rain
- season
- seasonal
- seasonality
- seasonally
- spring
- spring fever
- summertime
- vernal
- winter
- wintertime
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fall noun (ACCIDENT)
B2 [ C usually singular ] the act of falling down to the ground, usually without intending to or by accident:
More examples
- The soft grass cushioned his fall.
- I was in no mood for heroics after my fall and skied very slowly down the mountainside.
- The horse broke its front leg in the fall.
- He spent the last ten years of his life in a wheelchair after a fall which left him paralysed from the waist down.
- After her fall she complained that she couldn't bend her leg properly.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Falling and dropping
- ass
- ass over teakettle idiom
- collapse
- collapse/fall in a heap idiom
- cropper
- crumple
- drop like flies idiom
- drop sb/sth off
- fly
- hit the deck idiom
- let go idiom
- nosedive
- overbalance
- parachutist
- plunge
- pratfall
- put sth/sb down
- shower
- stumble
- wayside
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fall noun (MOVEMENT DOWNWARDS)
[ C usually singular ] an amount of something that moves down onto the ground or from a higher position to a lower position:
often used in place names to mean a very wide waterfall, often made of many separate waterfalls:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Watercourses & waterfalls
- arroyo
- barrage
- bayou
- beck
- brook
- burn
- cascade
- downriver
- Euphrates
- ghat
- gully
- headwater
- Mississippi
- rapids
- rivulet
- sluice
- spate
- upriver
- watercourse
- watershed
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fall noun (DEFEAT)
C1 [ C usually singular ] the fact of being defeated or losing your power:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Losing and being defeated
- admit
- battering
- capitulate
- defeat
- downfall
- drubbing
- fallen
- give
- give in
- go
- go down
- knuckle under
- leave, go off, etc. with your tail between your legs idiom
- say
- squeaker
- tail
- throw
- throw in the towel idiom 1
- tie
- you win! idiom
See more results »