free fall

¹

noun

1. the hypothetical fall of a body such that the only force acting upon it is that of gravity.
2. the part of a parachute jump that precedes the opening of the parachute.
3. a decline, especially a sudden or rapid decline, as in value or prestige, that appears to be endless or bottomless:

   The economy was in a free fall all winter.

free-fall

²

[ free-fawl ]

verb (used without object)

, free-fell, free-fall·en, free-fall·ing.

1. (of parachutists) to descend initially, as for a designated interval, in a free fall:

   The jumpers were required to free-fall for eight seconds.

adjective

1. denoting or suggesting a free fall:

   a free-fall recession.

noun

1. free fall ( def 1, 2 ).

free fall

noun

1. free descent of a body in which the gravitational force is the only force acting on it
2. the part of a parachute descent before the parachute opens

free fall

1. In physics , the motion of a body being acted upon only by gravity . A satellite in orbit is in free fall, as is a skydiver (if we neglect the effects of air resistance).

Notes

During free fall, objects are said to be weightless.

Word History and Origins

Origin of free fall¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Origin of free fall²

First recorded in 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

A rapid, uncontrolled decline, as in The markets threatened to go into free fall and we came close to outright panic. This term transfers the aeronautical meaning of a free fall, that is, “a fall through the air without any impedance, such as a parachute,” to other kinds of precipitous drop. [Second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

Huawei's latest Q4 2020 numbers show its phone sales in free fall, dropping 42 percent year-over-year.

From Ars Technica

One of the largest contributors to GDP, tourism accounts for more than 8% of Mexico’s economic output and provides millions of jobs, but as international travel plummets thanks to the pandemic, the industry is in free fall.

From Time

The value of one of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrencies is crashing and a recently filed SEC complaint is at the root of the free fall.

From TechCrunch

Over the course of 2020, FiveThirtyEight’s visual journalists covered a historic election, an unprecedented year in sports, a raging pandemic and an economy in free fall.

From FiveThirtyEight

Clouds moving in should keep the free fall from continuing, but some colder spots could hit the low 20s or so.

From Washington Post

She had supported Stern when his own career had first been in gestation and then later in free-fall.

From The Daily Beast

Jackson Jr., son of the legendary minister, won reelection in November despite a career and personal life in seeming free-fall.

From The Daily Beast

Riding a warg, the Pale Orc watches as the company awaits their free-fall into death.

From The Daily Beast

She went into position one without prompting as they jumped and began to free-fall.

From The Daily Beast

I managed to get the gravity turned off and gave them a lesson in free-fall fighting.

From Project Gutenberg

Tom couldn't even go into free-fall for ten minutes without getting sick all over the place.

From Project Gutenberg

For the first eight hours of free fall, after the engines had cut out, Tom was violently ill.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a moment of free-fall, then the drive engine came on and the grav-field equilibrated.

From Project Gutenberg

He knew there would be fifty seconds of free-fall before the rockets fired again.

From Project Gutenberg