fall behind
Britishverb
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to drop back; fail to keep up
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to be in arrears, as with a payment
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Also, get behind.
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Lag, fail to keep up, as in You really must keep up with the others; if you fall behind you could get lost . [First half of 1500s]
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Be financially in arrears, as in He fell behind in his payments . [Mid-1800s]
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.
There are also concerns that Stamford Bridge is beginning to look dated, leaving Chelsea at risk of falling behind their rivals, particularly with new Premier League squad-cost ratio rules coming into force this summer.
From BBC
AI is supposed to define everybody’s future, but some people think that Apple has fallen behind in the AI race.
From Barron's
“I have no doubt that the private market is ramping up because they see the opportunity to jump on prime borrowers. It’s the people who need the most help who are going to fall behind.”
From MarketWatch
When the sun fell behind the tallest tree tonight, the Afterlife would not be so coy.
From Literature
As the year progressed, there were growing signs that OpenAI was falling behind competitors in key parts of the AI race.
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.
