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:
So Ohtani may not be the sole cause for the possible downfall of the Dodgers dynasty, but he is the team’s soul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Crook explained the accent round was his downfall.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 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
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
The history of Silicon Valley is full of big bets and abrupt downfalls, but rarely has anyone traded his reputation for seemingly so little reward.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
What will be so frustrating for Arsenal and Liverpool is they were both architects of their own downfalls with desperately poor performances just when they needed victory most.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2024
In his own territory there are divisions and downfalls, leavings and separations, and, with your help, he cannot preserve it.
From The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics) by James Legge
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
