downfall
Americannoun
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a sudden loss of position, health, or reputation
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a fall of rain, snow, etc, esp a sudden heavy one
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another word for deadfall
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of downfall
Explanation
A downfall is a sudden drop in status or strength. You might be winning at Monopoly until your opponents decide to team up against you, which leads to your downfall. Poor political decisions can result in the downfall of a government or party, and an economic depression can lead to the downfall of businesses and banks. A more literal, but less common, kind of downfall is when rain or snow falls down to the ground: "The downfall of snow will make the roads slippery tonight." The "decline in strength" meaning has been in use since the 14th century.
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.
See Examples For:
What to know: Cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is played by Anthony Boyle in this series about the onetime tech darling’s downfall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Often she can channel her emotions into her aggressive hitting, but former British number one Annabel Croft believes it contributed to her downfall against Rybakina.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
The filing caps a stunning downfall for a league that sowed chaos in professional golf from its inception.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
It also led to the downfall of the administration of KP Sharma Oli, setting in motion a series of events that culminated with the election of youthful Prime Minister Balendra Shah in March.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Whilst they plotted Washington’s downfall, I dozed in a chair in the hallway in case they needed victuals or a bottle of port.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Whether any of these downfalls will result in a re-examination of how men treat women writ large looks less likely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
But one of the downfalls certainly has been how divisive some of the language is.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
There are warnings of further heavy downfalls into Saturday.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024
The four-part series chronicles Beckham’s early beginnings, career highlights, career downfalls and family life through interviews with Beckham and old footage.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2023
The Duke has had notice to get himself in readiness for departing from this world of grandeurs and victories, and downfalls and disappointments.
From The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray
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.
