fall behind
Britishverb
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to drop back; fail to keep up
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to be in arrears, as with a payment
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Also, get behind.
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Lag, fail to keep up, as in You really must keep up with the others; if you fall behind you could get lost . [First half of 1500s]
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Be financially in arrears, as in He fell behind in his payments . [Mid-1800s]
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.
Kyle Chan, an expert on China at the Brookings Institution, said China appears increasingly willing to discuss an agreement as it appears to fall behind its U.S. competitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Llamau warned, despite being at the forefront, Wales could fall behind the rest of the UK as, without support, expanding outside south Wales and the valleys will be a long, slow process.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The new gadget can detect, for example, if keys fall behind a sofa.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Compute providers that lack a strong strategic relationship with Nvidia could fall behind, said Slowinski, who does not cover SpaceX.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
I found myself reaching out to touch him, lest I fall behind.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
