fall
Other forms: fell; fallen; falling; falls
Looking at the multitude of meanings for the word fall, one thing comes clear: the word is most often associated with a drop or descent of some kind, whether that be a physical fall from a high place or a metaphorical fall from power or grace.
In the 16th Century, autumn was known as "the fall of the leaf," which later became just fall, but the actual word is much older than that, traceable to the Old English feallan. Many meanings, including a fall in temperature, to fall in love or to fall asleep, all stem from the Middle Ages. If you're the "fall guy," you're going to get blamed, or "take the fall." If you fall in love and then fall out of favor with your beloved, your next action might fall under the category of "gift giving" or just "kissing up."
Definitions of fall
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descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
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move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way“The barometer is falling”“The curtain fell on the diva”“Her hand went up and then fell again”
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Antonyms:
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arise, come up, go up, lift, move up, rise, uprise
move upward
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ascend, go up
travel up, "We ascended the mountain"
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types:
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prolapse
slip or fall out of place, as of body parts
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abseil, rappel, rope down
lower oneself with a rope coiled around the body from a mountainside
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dismount, get down, get off, light, unhorse
alight from (a horse)
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avalanche, roll down
gather into a huge mass and roll down a mountain, of snow
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dive, plunge, plunk
drop steeply
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go down, go under, set
disappear beyond the horizon
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correct, decline, slump
go down in value
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precipitate
fall vertically, sharply, or headlong
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sink, subside
descend into or as if into some soft substance or place
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crash
fall or come down violently
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flop
fall suddenly and abruptly
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topple, tumble
fall down, as if collapsing
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drop
fall vertically
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plop
drop with the sound of something falling into water
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pitch
fall or plunge forward
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alight, climb down
come down
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go down, go under, settle, sink
go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned"
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pounce, swoop
move down on as if in an attack
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drip
fall in drops
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cascade, cascade down
rush down in big quantities, like a cascade
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power-dive
make a power dive
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nosedive
plunge nose first; drop with the nose or front first, of aircraft
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duck
submerge or plunge suddenly
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crash-dive
descend steeply and rapidly
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chute, jump, parachute
jump from an airplane and descend with a parachute
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keel over
turn over and fall
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dump, plunge
fall abruptly
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plummet, plump
drop sharply
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flump, flump down
fall heavily
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settle, subside
sink down or precipitate
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founder
sink below the surface
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submerge, submerse
sink below the surface; go under or as if under water
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decline
go down
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stoop
descend swiftly, as if on prey
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arise, come up, go up, lift, move up, rise, uprise
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lose an upright position suddenly“The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table”“Her hair fell across her forehead”
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synonyms:
fall down
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type of:
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change posture
undergo a change in bodily posture
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change posture
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fall from clouds“rain, snow and sleet were falling”
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synonyms:
come down, precipitate
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types:
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rain, rain down
precipitate as rain
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spat
come down like raindrops
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snow
fall as snow
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hail
precipitate as small ice particles
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sleet
precipitate as a mixture of rain and snow
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drizzle, mizzle
rain lightly
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shower, shower down
rain abundantly
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patter, pitter-patter, spatter, spit, sprinkle
rain gently
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pelt, pour, rain buckets, rain cats and dogs, stream
rain heavily
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slope downward
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drop oneself to a lower or less erect position“She fell back in her chair”“He fell to his knees”
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Synonyms:
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fall down
lose an upright position suddenly
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type of:
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change posture
undergo a change in bodily posture
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fall down
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fall or flow in a certain way
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decrease in size, extent, or range“The cabin pressure fell dramatically”“his voice fell to a whisper”
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Antonyms:
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increase
become bigger or greater in amount
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types:
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break
diminish or discontinue abruptly
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shrink, shrivel
decrease in size, range, or extent
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taper
diminish gradually
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drop off
fall or diminish
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fly, vanish, vaporize
decrease rapidly and disappear
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break
fall sharply
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ease off, ease up, flag, slacken off
become less intense
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weaken
become weaker
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boil down, concentrate, decoct, reduce
be cooked until very little liquid is left
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contract, shrink
become smaller or draw together
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shrink, shrivel, shrivel up, wither
wither, as with a loss of moisture
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abate, die away, let up, slack, slack off
become less in amount or intensity
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deflate
become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air
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dwindle, dwindle away, dwindle down
become smaller or lose substance
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remit
diminish or abate
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de-escalate
diminish in size, scope, or intensity
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depreciate, devaluate, devalue, undervalue
lose in value
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shorten
become short or shorter
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thin out
become sparser
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decline, go down, wane
grow smaller
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wane
decrease in phase
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wane
become smaller
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decelerate, retard, slow, slow down, slow up
lose velocity; move more slowly
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decrescendo
grow quieter
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atrophy
undergo atrophy
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attenuate
become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude
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disappear, evaporate, melt
become less intense and fade away gradually
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die down
become progressively weaker
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collapse
lose significance, effectiveness, or value
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fade, melt
become less clearly visible or distinguishable; disappear gradually or seemingly
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lessen, subside
wear off or die down
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blast
shrivel or wither or mature imperfectly
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die back, die down
suffer from a disease that kills shoots
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dry up, mummify
dry up and shrivel due to complete loss of moisture
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blur, dim, slur
become vague or indistinct
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languish, pine away, waste
lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
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dull
make less lively or vigorous
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pall
lose strength or effectiveness; become or appear boring, insipid, or tiresome (to)
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loose, loosen, relax
become loose or looser or less tight
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slacken
become looser or slack
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dip
go down momentarily
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wear on
pass slowly (of time)
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drop
go down in value
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slack, slacken, slow, slow down, slow up
become slow or slower
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slow, slow down, slow up
cause to proceed more slowly
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delay, detain, hold up
cause to be slowed down or delayed
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wilt
lose strength
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flex
contract
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type of:
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change magnitude
change in size or magnitude
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increase
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pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind“fall into a trap”“She fell ill”“They fell out of favor”“fall asleep”“fall prey to an imposter”“fall into a strange way of thinking”“she fell to pieces after she lost her work”
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Synonyms:
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drop away, drop off, fall away, slip
get worse
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break, come apart, fall apart, separate, split up
become separated into pieces or fragments
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crumble, fall apart
break or fall apart into fragments
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drop off, fall back, fall behind, lose, recede
retreat
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dawdle, fall back, fall behind, lag
hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.
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fall flat, fall through, flop, founder
fail utterly; collapse
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fall for
be deceived, duped, or entrapped by
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types:
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drop
fall or sink into a state of exhaustion or death
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fall in love
begin to experience feelings of love towards
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type of:
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change state, turn
undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
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drop away, drop off, fall away, slip
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come under, be classified or included
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suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
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die, as in battle or in a hunt“Many soldiers fell at Verdun”“Several deer have fallen to the same gun”“The shooting victim fell dead”
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type of:
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buy the farm, cash in one's chips, choke, conk, croak, decease, die, drop dead, exit, expire, give-up the ghost, go, kick the bucket, pass, pass away, perish, pop off, snuff it
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
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buy the farm, cash in one's chips, choke, conk, croak, decease, die, drop dead, exit, expire, give-up the ghost, go, kick the bucket, pass, pass away, perish, pop off, snuff it
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be captured“The cities fell to the enemy”
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type of:
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yield
cease opposition; stop fighting
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yield
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lose office or power“The government fell overnight”“The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen”
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type of:
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leave office, quit, resign, step down
give up or retire from a position
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leave office, quit, resign, step down
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move in a specified direction
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touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
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occur at a specified time or place“Christmas falls on a Monday this year”“The accent falls on the first syllable”
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type of:
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come about, fall out, go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, pass off, take place
come to pass
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come about, fall out, go on, hap, happen, occur, pass, pass off, take place
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be due“payments fall on the 1st of the month”
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type of:
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be
have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
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be
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to be given by assignment or distribution“The most difficult task fell on the youngest member of the team”“The onus fell on us”“The pressure to succeed fell on the youngest student”
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Synonyms:
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light
fall to somebody by assignment or lot
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light
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fall to somebody by assignment or lot
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be inherited by“The estate fell to my sister”
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accrue
come into the possession of
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types:
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light
fall to somebody by assignment or lot
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type of:
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change hands, change owners
be transferred to another owner
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accrue
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to be given by right or inheritance“The estate fell to the oldest daughter”
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come into the possession of
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synonyms:
accrue
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type of:
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change hands, change owners
be transferred to another owner
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change hands, change owners
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assume a disappointed or sad expression“Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off”“his crest fell”
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type of:
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change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
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change
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be cast down“his eyes fell”
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type of:
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change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
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change
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go as if by falling
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come as if by falling
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come out; issue
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begin vigorously
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a movement downward
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a downward slope or bend
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synonyms:
declension, declination, decline, declivity, descent, downslope
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a sudden drop from an upright position
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a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity
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synonyms:
drop
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types:
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free fall
the ideal falling motion of something subject only to a gravitational field
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plunge
a steep and rapid fall
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precipitation
the act of casting down or falling headlong from a height
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type of:
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gravitation
movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction
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descent
a movement downward
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free fall
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a sudden decline in strength or number or importance“the fall of the House of Hapsburg”
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synonyms:
downfall
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Antonyms:
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rise
a growth in strength or number or importance
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types:
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anticlimax
a disappointing decline after a previous rise
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type of:
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weakening
becoming weaker
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rise
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a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity“when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall”
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types:
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correction
a drop in stock market activity or stock prices following a period of increases
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voltage drop
a decrease in voltage along a conductor through which current is flowing
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correction
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the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions)
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synonyms:
capitulation, surrender
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type of:
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loss
the act of losing someone or something
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loss
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the time of day immediately following sunset
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when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
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the season when the leaves fall from the trees“in the fall of 1973”
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synonyms:
autumn
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type of:
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season, time of year
one of the natural periods into which the year is divided by the equinoxes and solstices or atmospheric conditions
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season, time of year
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yield to temptation or sin“Adam and Eve fell”
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type of:
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sin, transgress, trespass
commit a sin; violate a law of God or a moral law
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sin, transgress, trespass
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lose one's chastity
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a lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity
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be born, used chiefly of lambs“The lambs fell in the afternoon”
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type of:
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be born
come into existence through birth
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be born
Pronunciation
US
/fɔl/
UK
/fɔl/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘fall'.
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