Dictionary.com

fell

1
[ fel ]
/ fɛl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR fell

verb

simple past tense of fall.

QUIZZES

THIS PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ IS PERFECT PRACTICE FOR THE REAL TEST

In our third teacher-created PSAT practice test there are new and unique vocabulary terms you may have never heard of! Can you guess what they mean?
Question 1 of 10
seclusion
a false belief or opinion.
the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
the state of being isolated, kept apart, or withdrawn into solitude.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby fell

Felix, Felix I, Felix III, Felix IV, Felixstowe, fell, fella, fellable, fellah, fellate, fellatio

Definition for fell (2 of 5)

fell2
[ fel ]
/ fɛl /

verb (used with object)

to knock, strike, shoot, or cut down; cause to fall: to fell a moose; to fell a tree.
Sewing. to finish (a seam) by sewing the edge down flat.

noun

Lumbering. the amount of timber cut down in one season.
Sewing. a seam finished by felling.

Origin of fell

2
before 900; Middle English fellen,Old English fellan, causative of feallan to fall; cognate with Gothic falljan to cause to fall

Definition for fell (3 of 5)

fell3
[ fel ]
/ fɛl /

adjective

fierce; cruel; dreadful; savage.
destructive; deadly: fell poison; fell disease.

Origin of fell

3
1250–1300; Middle English fel<Old French, nominative of felon wicked. See felon1

OTHER WORDS FROM fell

fellness, noun

Definition for fell (4 of 5)

fell4
[ fel ]
/ fɛl /

noun

the skin or hide of an animal; pelt.

Origin of fell

4
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch vel,German Fell,Old Norse -fjall (in berfjall bear-skin), Gothic -fill (in thrutsfill scab-skin, leprosy); akin to Latin pellis skin, hide

Definition for fell (5 of 5)

fell5
[ fel ]
/ fɛl /

noun Scot. and North England.

an upland pasture, moor, or thicket; a highland plateau.

Origin of fell

5
1300–50; Middle English <Old Norse fell,fjall hill, mountain, akin to German Felsen rock, cliff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to fell

shoot, tumble, drop, flatten, slash, raze, shoot down, rive, gash, cleave, cut, level, floor, demolish, down, hew, split, sunder, hack, prostrate

Example sentences from the Web for fell

British Dictionary definitions for fell (1 of 5)

fell1
/ (fɛl) /

verb (tr)

to cut or knock downto fell a tree; to fell an opponent
needlework to fold under and sew flat (the edges of a seam)

noun

US and Canadian the timber felled in one season
a seam finished by felling

Derived forms of fell

fellable, adjective

Word Origin for fell

Old English fellan; related to Old Norse fella, Old High German fellen; see fall

British Dictionary definitions for fell (2 of 5)

fell2
/ (fɛl) /

adjective

archaic cruel or fierce; terrible
archaic destructive or deadlya fell disease
one fell swoop a single hasty action or occurrence

Derived forms of fell

fellness, noun

Word Origin for fell

C13 fel, from Old French: cruel, from Medieval Latin fellō villain; see felon 1

British Dictionary definitions for fell (3 of 5)

fell3
/ (fɛl) /

verb

the past tense of fall

British Dictionary definitions for fell (4 of 5)

fell4
/ (fɛl) /

noun

an animal skin or hide

Word Origin for fell

Old English; related to Old High German fel skin, Old Norse berfjall bearskin, Latin pellis skin; see peel 1

British Dictionary definitions for fell (5 of 5)

fell5
/ (fɛl) /

noun

(often plural) Northern English and Scot
  1. a mountain, hill, or tract of upland moor
  2. (in combination)fell-walking

Word Origin for fell

C13: from Old Norse fjall; related to Old High German felis rock
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

Idioms and Phrases with fell

fell

see one fell swoop.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.