Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

fall down

British  

verb

  1. to drop suddenly or collapse

  2. informal (often foll by on) to prove unsuccessful; fail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fall down Idioms  
  1. Fail to meet expectations; lag in performance. For example, It was disappointing to see him fall down on the job. This expression transfers a literal drop to a figurative one. [Second half of 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.

"All those dominoes don't necessarily fall down in that order if Flight into Danger didn't happen."

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Witless doesn’t even begin to describe celebrating those who are willing to fall down a hill for a keg of not very good beer at a wedding.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2026

To date, they have tended to fall down when it comes to real-world hacking, where they have to do a series of complex tests, and then draw conclusions and take action.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

“I’ve been married, now I’m divorced. But, if you fall down on the ice, can you imagine how many times I had to fall down and get up?”

From MarketWatch • Oct. 13, 2025

But she was wrong, because: Walls fall down.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "fall down" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com