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

• fellable adjective
• fellness noun

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”; fall

Origin of fell³

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

Example Sentences

Recovered in the race but fell away towards the end.

From BBC

Shares in the French distiller initially fell on reports of talks with ts Kentucky-based peer, but investors changed their minds after the companies confirmed the talks.

From The Wall Street Journal

"One time I fell off stage in Norway and a load of women caught me in the front row – and, quite honestly, I'm not sure I'd ever have the bravery to do that on purpose."

From BBC

“They literally fell head over heels flat into an ongoing operation that we had,” said Robert Zachariasiewicz, the supervising DEA agent who is now at corporate intelligence firm Elicius.

From The Wall Street Journal

"As children, we would see huge vessels in which food was being cooked. Everyone ate to their fill, and the food never fell short."

From BBC

Related Words

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