DictionaryAI

fall

SayFAWL/fɔl/UK/fɔːl//fo(ː)l/

Verbfalls, falling, fell, fallen

Noun pluralfalls

44 meanings of fall

Practice

  1. 1
    drop downverbintransitive
    To drop or come down freely from a higher position, pulled by gravity.

    Objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum, regardless of weight.

    She watched the pebble fall into the deep well.

    UsagePast fell, participle fallen. Do not confuse it with the verb fell (cut down): the tree fell, but someone fells a tree.

    Similardrop, descend, plummet, plunge, tumble

    Oppositerise, ascend, climb

  2. 2
    autumnnounUSCanadacountable or uncountable
    The season between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, when leaves typically drop from the trees; autumn.

    Cool, crisp mornings arrive once fall settles over New England.

    They harvest the apples each fall before the first frost.

    UsageUsually in the fall, this fall, last fall; in Britain the usual word is autumn.

    Note

    The North American name for autumn, taken from the phrase "the fall of the leaf." John Pickering's Vocabulary of 1816 already reports that in North America the season, "instead of autumn is universally called the fall."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The seasonal name fall is a shortening of fall of the leaf. en.wikipedia.org
    • John Pickering's A Vocabulary was published in 1816. openlibrary.org
    • Pickering's Vocabulary reports the quoted description of North American seasonal terminology. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    becomeverbintransitive
    To pass into a particular state or condition, often a bad one, as in falling ill, asleep, silent, or into debt.

    The whole village fell ill after the well was contaminated.

    Soldiers must not fall asleep while on watch.

    UsageMostly in set phrases: fall ill, fall asleep, fall silent, fall in love, fall victim to something.

    Similarbecome, get, grow

    Note

    The state it leads into is usually not chosen: sleep, illness, silence, love.

  4. 4
    drop downverbintransitive
    To be brought down to the ground, as by losing support or balance.

    She slipped on the wet kitchen tiles and fell, bruising her hip.

    Grandpa uses a cane now because he's afraid he might fall again.

    UsageOften fall down or fall over; you fall off a bike or ladder and fall on the ice.

    Similartumble, topple, drop, collapse

  5. 5
    become lowerverbintransitive
    To become lower in quantity, level, or pitch.

    Temperatures fall sharply once the sun sets in the desert.

    Stock prices fell for the third straight day.

    UsageTakes no object: prices fall, but companies lower or cut them. Use by for the amount and to for the new level.

    Similardrop, decrease, decline, dip, sink

    Oppositerise, increase, climb, soar

    Note

    Numbers and levels fall: thermometers, poll ratings, murder rates. Sir John Ross records that "the thermometer fell to 5°." An older, wider use appears in John Davies (1612), where "the greatness and power of those Irish lords over the people suddenly fell and vanished." There it is standing, not a number, that drops.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  6. 6
    verbintransitive
    To be defeated or overthrown, or to give way and collapse.

    The fortress finally fell when its defenders ran out of supplies.

    Regimes that ignore their people often fall in the end.

    UsageUse to for the winner: the city fell to the rebels. Rise and fall pairs it with its opposite.

    Similarcollapse, surrender, capitulate, succumb, crumble

    Oppositestand, hold, survive, endure

    Note

    Here falling happens to cities, fortresses and governments rather than to bodies. Like many uses of fall, it treats change as change for the worse, and the noun carries the same idea as a loss of greatness.

  7. 7
    verbintransitive
    To be included in a particular class, range, area, or authority, followed by words such as into, under, within, or outside.

    Parking tickets fall under the city's authority, not the state's.

    Any purchase that falls outside the approved budget has to go to the board.

    UsagePairs: fall into a category or group, fall under a heading or authority, fall within or outside a range.

    Similarcome, lie

  8. 8
    act of droppingnouncountable or uncountable
    The act of moving downward under the force of gravity.

    The skydiver's fall lasted nearly a minute before the parachute opened.

    A sudden fall on the ice can break a wrist.

    UsageCommon phrases: have a fall, a bad fall, a fall from a ladder or horse.

    Similardescent, drop, plunge, tumble, spill

    Oppositerise, ascent, climb

  9. 9
    descend uponverbintransitive
    To come or descend as if by dropping down from above.

    Darkness falls early during the winter months.

    As evening comes, long shadows fall over the empty fields.

    UsageNight falls with no preposition; a calm or silence falls on or over a place or people.

    Similardescend, settle

    Oppositelift

    Note

    Here nothing physical drops. Night, a calm or a noise arrives and settles over a place. Bram Stoker writes of "a sudden calm" that "fell on us like a cloud of fear."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Bram Stoker wrote the quoted description of a sudden calm in The Jewel of Seven Stars; it appears in the narration. gutenberg.org
  10. 10
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A decline from a position of greatness or high status.

    The scandal led to the senator's sudden fall from grace.

    Historians still debate the causes of Rome's fall.

    UsageSet phrases: a fall from grace, the rise and fall of an empire, pride comes before a fall.

    Similardownfall, decline, collapse, ruin, demise

    Oppositerise, ascent, ascendancy

  11. 11
    nouncountable or uncountable
    Something that falls or cascades downward, such as water or snow.

    There was a fresh fall of snow overnight, so the kids spent the morning building forts.

    We hiked upstream to see the falls, where the river drops into a narrow gorge.

    UsageUsually a fall of snow, rock or hair; the falls, plural, names a waterfall.

    Similarcascade, shower, downpour

    Note

    Often used of hair, where it captures length and movement together. Winter Pennington's Witch Wolf has "a fall of hair" tumbling "down one side of her body like a veil." The same image gives its name to the hairpiece of long strands.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Winter Pennington's Witch Wolf contains the quoted description of falling hair. en.wiktionary.org
  12. 12
    reductionnouncountable or uncountable
    A reduction in quantity, level, or pitch.

    Economists noted a steep fall in consumer spending last quarter.

    A sudden fall in pressure warned the crew of the coming storm.

    UsageUse in for what drops (a fall in prices) and of for the size (a fall of 5%).

    Similardrop, decrease, decline, dip, reduction

    Oppositerise, increase, growth, surge

  13. 13
    verbintransitive
    To occur on a particular day, date, or point in time.

    Major national elections often fall in early November.

    This year, the festival falls on the first weekend of May.

    UsageUse on for a day or date and in for a month or season: it falls on a Sunday, in April.

    Similaroccur, come, land

    Note

    The calendar use: a holiday or anniversary falls on a day or date. An editor's note in the published Letters to Mamie puts it plainly: "D-day fell on June 6 rather than the planned June 5."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  14. 14
    pass toverbintransitive
    To be allotted to someone, or to come to a person through chance, fate, or inheritance.

    The estate fell to a distant cousin after the will was read.

    Difficult decisions often fall to those in charge.

    UsageSet pattern: it falls to someone to do something, as in it falls to me to decide.

    Similarpass, go (entry), devolve

    Note

    The estate fell to his brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals. Pope's Rape of the Lock uses it lightly of faults: "If to her share some female errors fall."

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock contains the quoted line about female errors. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of fall apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Proto-Germanic *fallaną gave Old English feallan, meaning "to fall, fail, decay, die, attack," and then the Middle English verb fallen, and Dutch vallen and German fallen are cognates. The noun comes from Old English feall ("a falling") and fealle ("trap, snare"). Using fall for "autumn" is recorded in England by the 1660s, shortened from "fall of the leaf" (1540s) because leaves drop in that season, and it mostly displaced the older name "harvest."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 8 facts

  • Proto-Germanic *fallaną developed into Old English feallan and then Middle English fallen. en.wiktionary.org
  • Old English feallan had the listed meanings. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch vallen and German fallen are cognates of English fall. en.wiktionary.org
  • The noun derives from Old English feall, meaning a falling, and fealle, meaning trap or snare. en.wiktionary.org
  • The autumn sense is attested in England by the 1660s. en.wiktionary.org
  • The seasonal name shortens fall of the leaf, recorded in the 1540s. en.wiktionary.org
  • The seasonal expression refers to leaves falling in autumn. en.wiktionary.org
  • Fall helped displace the older seasonal name harvest, alongside autumn. en.wikipedia.org