fallen
Americanverb
adjective
-
having dropped or come down from a higher place, from an upright position, or from a higher level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.
-
on the ground; prostrate; down flat.
Exhausted, the racers lay fallen by the road.
-
degraded or immoral.
-
(of a woman) having lost her chastity.
-
overthrown, destroyed, or conquered.
a fallen city.
-
dead.
fallen troops.
verb
adjective
-
having sunk in reputation or honour
a fallen woman
-
killed in battle with glory
our fallen heroes
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defeated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fallen
First recorded before 900, for the adjective
Explanation
Something that's fallen has dropped to the ground. You might collect fallen apples to make into cider or applesauce. The most literal sense of something fallen is just what it sounds like — an object that's moved from a high place to a lower place, usually due to gravity. There are also some figurative meanings: a fallen soldier has died on the battlefield, and a fallen person has committed a moral sin or ruined his reputation. In the 17th century, fallen frequently meant "morally ruined," more often describing a women than a man.
Vocabulary lists containing fallen
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Global observed oil stocks have fallen by about 2.8 million barrels a day on average since the start of the war, according to the IEA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
But for now the momentum has fallen away from a change in the law.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The increase in US rate expectations saw the dollar jump against the yen, having fallen for the past week on bets for a series of hikes by the Bank of Japan.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
“For years, rideshare companies have fallen short of giving drivers a meaningful say over their working conditions,” Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who co-authored the bill, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
If they should come upon a blockage—a fallen rock, anything—they were doomed.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
