Showing results for "fell"

• past tense form of fall.

fell

¹ American  

[fel] / fɛl /

verb

1. simple past tense of fall.

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fell ² American  

[fel] / fɛl /

verb (used with object)

1. to knock, strike, shoot, or cut down; cause to fall: to fell a tree.

   to fell a moose;

   to fell a tree.

2. Sewing. to finish (a seam) by sewing the edge down flat.

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noun

1. Lumbering. the amount of timber cut down in one season.

2. Sewing. a seam finished by felling.

fell ³ American  

[fel] / fɛl /

adjective

1. fierce; ferocious; dreadful; savage.

2. destructive; deadly.

   fell poison;

   fell disease.

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idioms

1. at / in one fell swoop. swoop.

fell ⁴ American  

[fel] / fɛl /

noun

Chiefly Literary.

1. the skin or hide of an animal; pelt.

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fell ⁵ American  

[fel] / fɛl /

noun

Scot. and North England.

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

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fell ¹ British  

/ fɛl /

verb

1. to cut or knock down

   to fell a tree

   to fell an opponent

2. needlework to fold under and sew flat (the edges of a seam)

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noun

1. the timber felled in one season

2. a seam finished by felling

fell ² British  

/ fɛl /

adjective

1. archaic cruel or fierce; terrible

2. archaic destructive or deadly

   a fell disease

3. a single hasty action or occurrence

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fell ³ British  

/ fɛl /

noun

1. (often plural)

   1. a mountain, hill, or tract of upland moor

   2. ( in combination )

      fell-walking

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fell ⁴ British  

/ fɛl /

verb

1. the past tense of fall

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fell ⁵ British  

/ fɛl /

noun

1. an animal skin or hide

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fell More Idioms  

1. see one fell swoop.

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Other Word Forms

• fellness
  noun
• fellable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fell²

First recorded before 900; Middle English fellen, fillen, fullen, Old English fellan, fyllan “to cut, cut down, destroy, shed (tears),” causative of feallan “to fall, fall down”; cognate with Gothic falljan, Old Frisian falla, fella, Old High German fellen, German fällen “to make fall”; see origin at fall

Origin of fell³

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English fel “treacherous, deceitful, false,” from Old French, nominative of felon “wicked”; see origin at felon ¹

Origin of fell⁴

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English fel(l); cognate with Dutch vel, German Fell, Old Norse -fjall (as in berfjall “bearskin”), Gothic -fill (in thrutsfill “leprosy,” literally “scab skin”); akin to Latin pellis “skin, hide,” Greek péltē “small, light, leather-covered shield”

Origin of fell⁵

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fel “hill, mountain; upland or pasture; a moor or down”; from Old Norse fjall, -fell, “hill, mountain,” akin to German Fels “rock, cliff”

Explanation

Something that has been felled has been brought down, like a tree that has been felled by a powerful storm. The word fell wears many hats in addition to being the past tense of fall. As a noun, a fell can be a stitching on the hem of a piece of clothing like pants, or an animal skin that has the fur intact. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character MacDuff is stricken when he learns that his family has been killed “in one fell swoop.” Here the adjective fell means "vicious and cruel."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fell

The woman was hospitalized after her car fell off the roadway near Point Mugu and landed on a rocky beach around 7 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Fast-fashion retailer Shein fell 10 percent on its long-awaited Hong Kong trading debut Tuesday, having raised US$1.7 billion in a high-profile initial public offering.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

An S&P 500 put expiring in a month set about 3% below the current market price fell on Friday to its cheapest level since December 2024.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

NIO delivered nearly 50% more vehicles during the quarter, even though sales volume fell short of guidance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

As the pupils got here to find Tansy in what looked like a coal mine, a broken woman, they fell to.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• drop
• flatten
• raze
• shoot
• shoot down
• slash
• tumble