befall
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to happen or occur.
- Synonyms:
- chance, materialize, betide, ensue, bechance
-
Archaic. to come, as by right.
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(intr) to take place; come to pass
-
(tr) to happen to
-
to be due, as by right
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.
Vocabulary lists containing befall
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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ACT Vocabulary List
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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.
A different sort of disaster may befall Mr. Starmer and Labour in London.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
It’s not the first calamity to befall the family in the West Bank.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025
Remember Y2K, the impending doom that would befall us all when ill-equipped computer systems switched from “99” to “00” at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999?
From Salon • May 1, 2025
There’s also discussion about moving around steelhead to create backup populations should calamity befall one, as well as boost genetic diversity of the rare fish.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2025
Should any ill befall Joffrey, the Lannister claim to the Iron Throne would rest on Tommen's young shoulders.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
