befall

American  

[bih-fawl] / bɪˈfɔl /

verb (used without object)

• befalls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• befell,
  past
• befallen,
  past participle
• befalling
  present participle

1. to happen or occur.

   Synonyms:

   chance, materialize, betide, ensue, bechance

2. Archaic. to come, as by right.

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verb (used with object)

• befalls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• befell,
  past
• befallen,
  past participle
• befalling
  present participle

1. to happen to, especially by chance or fate.

befall British  

/ bɪˈfɔːl /

verb

1. (intr) to take place; come to pass

2. (tr) to happen to

3. to be due, as by right

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• befalling
  present
• befallen
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• befall
  simple
• befalls
  simple
• have befallen
  perfect
• has befallen
  perfect
• am befalling
  progressive
• are befalling
  progressive
• is befalling
  progressive
• have been befalling
  perfect progressive
• has been befalling
  perfect progressive

Past

• befell
  simple
• had befallen
  perfect
• was befalling
  progressive
• were befalling
  progressive
• had been befalling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will befall
  simple
• will have befallen
  perfect
• will be befalling
  progressive
• will have been befalling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of befall

before 900; Middle English befallen, Old English befeallan. See be-, fall (v.)

Explanation

Befall is an old-fashioned or literary way of saying something happened by chance. Bad luck befalls a heroine who drops her lucky rabbit foot. When something befalls you, it’s like bad luck falling on you. An earthquake can befall a city. A terrible disease could befall a child. A bolt of lightning could befall a very unlucky person. When something befalls you, you’re in trouble. Tragedies befall families in many of Shakespeare’s plays — that’s what makes them so much fun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

befall befalls befell befallen befalling

The biggest pre-World Cup worry for England was how they would cope should any misfortune befall captain Kane.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

"We wake up wondering what new disaster is going to befall Auroville," its French-language magazine declared in December.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

European elections keep rolling around whether anyone wants them or not, and the next will befall the U.K. in early May.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

How has she dealt with the fallow periods that befall every actor?

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

“The negotiations are over. One way or another she will be returned to her kind. No harm will befall Captain Short. You have my word.”

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Money is a form of the “resource curse” that befalls many producers of oil and other vital commodities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

Here, though, it’s justified because what befalls Ron could happen to anyone, and rooting surreal situations in relatability sparks Robinson’s comedy.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2025

Playing Beth’s mother, Grace, she volunteers to direct their small town’s famed Christmas pageant after an incident befalls the longtime director.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024

A magnetic field around any of these structures would form a continuous tangent vector field, and at this point we know what befalls such hairy constructions.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 18, 2023

"Take my betrothed back to the castle, and see that no harm befalls her," the prince told him brusquely.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

There are allusions to the tragedies that befell him: the loss of a young daughter to measles encephalitis and his son’s near-fatal accident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

This vast array of media professionals came no closer to uncovering what awful fate befell this poor 84-year-old woman.

From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2026

She will be desperate to avoid the disaster that befell hot men's favourite Ilia Malinin, who suffered a nightmare last week, slumping to an eighth-place finish.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

The issue also befell the German team who won bronze in the biathlon.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2026

Or they would speak about the potato fields of Colorado, and the tragedy that befell them there.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

A spate of fires and disasters has befallen the city's historic architecture over the years, raising questions about whether these are freak accidents or a symptom of wider issues.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

“This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. We all recognize that and our hearts go out to the entire Reiner family,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

"This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family," he said.

From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025

In her essay, Schlossberg acknowledged that her terminal illness adds to a string of tragedies that has befallen the famous political family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2025

Ser Mallador Locke would strike for the Shadow Tower, hoping to pick up Qhorin's trail and learn what had befallen him.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

It doesn’t help that a rainstorm of biblical proportions is befalling Chicago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

For someone who wept at seeing the modern Tatars enter Baghdad, the prospect of a similar fate befalling Tehran is more than a strategic policy shift.

From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026

If we speak about 1929 perhaps we believe we will avoid a similar fate befalling us.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2025

That defeat would have paled when set beside the one that looked like befalling Scotland now.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2024

It's possible she actually prevented another tragedy from befalling our family.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Related Words

• ensue
• materialize
• transpire