fall

[[t]fɔ͟ːl[/t]]

♦

falls, falling, fell, fallen

1) VERB If someone or something falls, they move quickly downwards onto or towards the ground, by accident or because of a natural force.

[V prep] Her father fell into the sea after a massive heart attack...

[V prep] Prince Charles has again fallen from his horse...

Bombs fell in the town...

[V out/off] I ought to seal the boxes up. I don't want the books falling out...

[V-ing] Twenty people were injured by falling masonry.

N-COUNT: oft N from n

Fall is also a noun.

The helmets are designed to withstand impacts equivalent to a fall from a bicycle.

2) VERB If a person or structure that is standing somewhere falls, they move from their upright position, so that they are then lying on the ground.

The woman gripped the shoulders of her man to stop herself from falling...

[V prep/adv] We watched buildings fall on top of people and pets...

[V prep/adv] He lost his balance and fell backwards.

Derived words:

fallen ADJ ADJ n

A number of roads have been blocked by fallen trees.

N-COUNT

Fall is also a noun.

Mrs Briscoe had a bad fall last week.

PHRASAL VERB

Fall down means the same as fall.

V P I hit him so hard he fell down... V P Children jumped from upper floors as the building fell down around them.

3) VERB When rain or snow falls, it comes down from the sky.

→ See also , snowfall

Winds reached up to 100mph in some places with an inch of rain falling within 15 minutes.

N-COUNT: N of n

Fall is also a noun.

One night there was a heavy fall of snow.

4) VERB If you fall somewhere, you allow yourself to drop there in a hurried or disorganized way, often because you are very tired.

[V prep] Totally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed...

[V prep] In the morning I got as far as the sofa and fell on to it.

5) VERB If something falls, it decreases in amount, value, or strength.

[V by n] Output will fall by 6% in the EC...

[V to/from n] Her weight fell to under seven stones...

[V amount] Between July and August, oil product prices fell 0.2 per cent...

The number of prosecutions has stayed static and the rate of convictions has fallen.

[V-ing] ...a time of falling living standards and emerging mass unemployment.

Syn:

drop

Ant:

rise

N-COUNT: usu sing

Fall is also a noun.

There was a sharp fall in the value of the pound.

6) VERB If a powerful or successful person falls, they suddenly lose their power or position.

Regimes fall, revolutions come and go, but places never really change...

[V from n] The moment Mrs Thatcher fell from power has left a lasting imprint on the world's memory.

Ant:

rise

N-SING: with poss

Fall is also a noun.

Following the fall of the military dictator in March, the country has had a civilian government... Her rise has mirrored his fall.

7) VERB If a place falls in a war or election, an enemy army or a different political party takes control of it.

[V to n] Croatian army troops retreated from northern Bosnia and the area fell to the Serbs...

With the announcement `Paphos has fallen!' a cheer went up from the assembled soldiers.

N-SING: usu N of n

Fall is also a noun.

...the fall of Rome.

8) VERB If someone falls in battle, they are killed. [LITERARY]

Another wave of troops followed the first, running past those who had fallen.

9) V-LINK You can use fall to show that someone or something passes into another state. For example, if someone falls ill, they become ill, and if something falls into disrepair, it is then in a state of disrepair.

[V in/into/out of n] It is almost impossible to visit Florida without falling in love with the state...

[V in/into/out of n] `Business to Business' was taken over by another company after it fell into debt...

[V adj] I took Moira to the cinema, where she fell asleep...

[V n] Almost without exception these women fall victim to exploitation.

10) VERB If you say that something or someone falls into a particular group or category, you mean that they belong in that group or category.

[V into n] The problems generally fall into two categories...

[V into n] Both women fall into the highest-risk group.

11) VERB If the responsibility or blame for something falls on someone, they have to take the responsibility or the blame for it. [WRITTEN]

[V on n] That responsibility falls on the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees...

[V on n] A vastly disproportionate burden falls on women for child care...

[V on n] A lot of suspicion fell on her.

12) VERB If silence or a feeling of sadness or tiredness falls on a group of people, they become silent, sad, or tired. [WRITTEN]

[V on/over n] The bus was stopped and silence fell on the passengers as the police checked identity cards.

Syn:

descend

13) VERB If a celebration or other special event falls on a particular day or date, it happens to be on that day or date.

[V on n] ...the oddly named Quasimodo Sunday which falls on the first Sunday after Easter.

14) VERB When light or shadow falls on something, it covers it.

[V across/over/on n] Nancy, out of the corner of her eye, saw the shadow that suddenly fell across the doorway.

15) VERB If someone's hair or a garment falls in a certain way, it hangs downwards in that way.

[V prep/adv] Her hair was dressed in soft waves, falling on her cheek in a manner fashionable in the early 1930s.

16) VERB If you say that someone's eyes fell on something, you mean they suddenly noticed it. [WRITTEN]

[V on/upon n] As he laid the flowers on the table, his eye fell upon a note in Grace's handwriting.

17) VERB When night or darkness falls, night begins and it becomes dark.

As darkness fell outside, they sat down to eat at long tables.

18) N-PLURAL: oft in names after n You can refer to a waterfall as the falls.

The falls have always been an insurmountable obstacle for salmon and sea trout.

...Niagara Falls.

19) N-VAR Fall is the season between summer and winter when the weather becomes cooler. [AM]

He was elected judge in the fall of 1991...

The Supreme Court will not hear the case until next fall.

(in BRIT, use autumn)

20) N-PROPER: the N In the Christian religion, the Fall was the occasion when Adam and Eve sinned and God made them leave the Garden of Eden.

21) N-COUNT In some sports such as judo and wrestling, a fall is the act of throwing or forcing your opponent to the floor.

22) VERB In cricket, when a wicket falls, the team who are fielding get one of the batsmen out.

The last seven wickets fell for ten runs.

23) → See also fallen

24) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR at/to n If something falls open, it opens accidentally.

By chance the book beside him fell open to St. Paul's warning to the Romans...

The basket that she was carrying fell open.

25) PHRASE: V inflects, oft cont If you say that people are falling over themselves to do something, you mean that they are very enthusiastic about doing it, and often that you disapprove of this. [INFORMAL]

Within days of his death those same people were falling over themselves to denounce him.

26) PHRASE: V inflects To fall to pieces, or in British English to fall to bits, means the same as to fall apart.

At that point the radio handset fell to pieces.

27) to fall on your feet → see foot

to fall foul of → see foul

to fall flat → see flat

to fall from grace → see grace

to fall into place → see place

to fall short → see short

to fall into step → see step

to fall into the trap → see trap

to fall by the wayside → see wayside

Phrasal Verbs:

- fall about

- fall apart

- fall away

- fall back

- fall back on

- fall behind

- fall down

- fall for

- fall in

- fall into

- fall in with

- fall off

- fall on

- fall out

- fall over

- fall through

- fall to