fall
- an act or instance of holding or forcing an opponent's shoulders against the mat for a specified length of time.
- a match or division of a match.
- to withdraw support or allegiance: The candidate's supporters fell away when he advocated racial discrimination.
- to become lean or thin; diminish; decline.
- to forsake one's faith, cause, or principles: Many fell away because they were afraid of reprisals.
- Also fall back to . to retreat to: They fell back on their entrenchments. The troops fell back to their original position.
- to have recourse to; rely on: They had no savings to fall back on.
- to lag, in pace or progress: We are falling behind in our work. Fatigued, some of the marchers fell behind.
- to fail to pay (a debt, obligation, etc.) at the appointed time: She fell behind in her tax payments, and the property was confiscated.
- to be deceived by: Imagine falling for such an old trick.
- to fall in love with: He's not at all the type you would expect her to fall for.
- to fall to pieces toward the interior; sink inward.
- to take one's place in the ranks, as a soldier.
- Also fall in with . to become acquainted with, especially by chance: We fell in with an interesting couple from Paris.
- to separate from; withdraw.
- to decrease in number, amount, or intensity; diminish: Tourism falls off when the summer is over.
- Nautical. to deviate from the heading; fall to leeward.
- South Midland and Southern U.S. to lose weight, usually due to illness: She was sick all winter and fell off till she was just skin and bones.
- to assault; attack: The enemy fell on them suddenly from the rear.
- to be the obligation of: It has fallen on me to support the family.
- to experience; encounter: Once well-to-do, they had fallen on hard times.
- to chance upon; come upon: I fell upon the idea while looking through a magazine.
- to quarrel; disagree: We fell out over who was to wash the dishes.
- to happen; occur: It fell out that we met by chance weeks later.
- to leave one's place in the ranks, as a soldier: They were ordered to fall out when the parade ended.
- Slang. to burst out laughing.
- South Midland and Southern U.S. to become unconscious; pass out.
- to apply oneself; begin: to fall to work.
- to begin to eat: They fell to and soon finished off the entire turkey.
- to be the concern or responsibility of.
- to be classified as; be included within: That case falls under the heading of errors of judgment.
Idioms about fall
- bend1 (def. 21).
- to exhibit great eagerness, especially in pursuit of one's own advantage: The candidate fell over backward in support of the issues that would win votes.
Origin of fall
OTHER WORDS FROM fall
un·fall·ing, adjectiveOther definitions for fall (2 of 2)
How to use fall in a sentence
This fall’s back-to-school season is going to look very strange.
This September, the Vox Book Club is reading Elif Batuman’s The Idiot|Constance Grady|August 28, 2020|VoxThough that also means banks won’t provide price stabilization should the price fall in the first day of trading.
For now, current regulations will not allow Cajon Valley’s program to open in the fall.
The Learning Curve: One School District Stayed Open – and Didn’t Have Problems|Will Huntsberry|August 13, 2020|Voice of San DiegoI wanted to be one of them — and in the fall of 1982, I moved into Eton Towers, my first college dorm.
They’re still figuring out how to handle orienting new students in the fall – a challenge they and other districts didn’t have in the spring.
Rural Districts Still Lack Devices, Internet Access as School Year Draws Near|Kayla Jimenez|August 11, 2020|Voice of San DiegoWe also see her physically battling Sheriff Clark, but the camera focuses on her falling to the ground.
The carpeting is worn, the furniture is falling apart, and the electricity is out for most of the day.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEASTWhere these laser-like missiles are falling out of the sky onto a city and you have to stop each of them from hitting the targets?
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEASTWe have to use common sense inclusiveness, because we are quickly getting to a place where our brain is falling out.
White, upper-middle-class, Ivy-League educated white men, however Great they are, are falling out of power.
A Few Great Men Too Many: Aaron Sorkin Doesn’t Think You Can Handle the Truth|Arthur Chu|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEASTIt will be no more monotonous than having one's seventh birthday or falling in love for the first time.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) WellsFor who, while tears are falling, will pause to handle the wreaths, and find whether they are genuine?
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel ConwayThe falling dew, and the howling wind raised him not from that bed of lonely despair.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane PorterDuring his mild régime the insurrection increased rapidly, and in one encounter he himself was very near falling a prisoner.
The Philippine Islands|John ForemanHe walked about, stumbling over sticks and stones and stumps, sometimes falling down on soft moss, and again on the hard ground.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
British Dictionary definitions for fall (1 of 2)
- to come into conflict with
- nautical to come into collision with
- to prove inadequate
- (often foll by of) to fail to reach or measure up to (a standard)
- a waterfall or cataract
- (capital when part of a name)Niagara Falls
- another word for deadfall
- (as modifier)a fall trap
- the birth of an animal
- the animals produced at a single birth
Word Origin for fall
British Dictionary definitions for fall (2 of 2)
Other Idioms and Phrases with fall
In addition to the idioms beginning with fall
- fall all over oneself
- fall apart
- fall asleep
- fall away
- fall back
- fall back on
- fall behind
- fall between the cracks
- fall by the wayside
- fall down
- fall flat
- fall for
- fall from grace
- fall guy
- fall in
- falling down drunk
- fall in line
- fall in love
- fall in place
- fall into
- fall in with
- fall off
- fall off the wagon
- fall on
- fall on deaf ears
- fall on one's face
- fall on one's feet
- fall out
- fall over
- fall short of
- fall through
- fall through the cracks
- fall to
- fall under
also see:
- bottom drops (falls) out
- break one's fall
- easy as pie (falling off a log)
- let drop (fall)
- let the chips fall where they may
- ride for a fall
- take the fall