befall
verb (used without object)
to happen or occur.
is befalling
-
present progressiveof befall (3rd person singular).present progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or state that is currently taking place in the immediate present.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It doesn’t help that a rainstorm of biblical proportions is befalling Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
One important difference between last year’s crisis and what is befalling New York Community Bancorp: The bank’s deposits appear to be relatively stable.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
“Then we would see stories about the economic calamity that is befalling our nation,” he said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2015
The look on their faces is at once ferocious and deeply self-aware, as if they understand the inevitability of the fate that is befalling the people they were made to protect.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 26, 2015
I knew not, but for torment of soul there is scarce any greater than so to lie, bound and alone, seeing nought, but guessing at what is befalling.
From A Monk of Fife by Andrew Lang
