fall Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the season when the leaves fall from the trees
    autumn.
    • in the fall of 1973
  2. noun a sudden drop from an upright position
    tumble; spill.
    • he had a nasty spill on the ice
  3. noun the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve
    • women have been blamed ever since the Fall
  4. noun a downward slope or bend
    decline; descent; declivity; downslope; declination; declension.
  5. noun a lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity
    • a fall from virtue
  6. noun a sudden decline in strength or number or importance
    downfall.
    • the fall of the House of Hapsburg
  7. noun a movement downward
    • the rise and fall of the tides
  8. noun the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions)
    surrender; capitulation.
    • they were protected until the capitulation of the fort
  9. noun the time of day immediately following sunset
    crepuscle; dusk; gloaming; gloam; evenfall; nightfall; twilight; crepuscule.
    • he loved the twilight
    • they finished before the fall of night
  10. noun when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
    pin.
  11. noun a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity
    drop.
    • it was a miracle that he survived the drop from that height
  12. noun a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
    free fall; drop; dip.
    • a drop of 57 points on the Dow Jones index
    • there was a drop in pressure in the pulmonary artery
    • a dip in prices
    • when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall
  13. verb descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
    • The branch fell from the tree
    • The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse
  14. verb move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
    go down; descend; come down.
    • The temperature is going down
    • The barometer is falling
    • The curtain fell on the diva
    • Her hand went up and then fell again
  15. verb pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
    • fall into a trap
    • She fell ill
    • They fell out of favor
    • Fall in love
    • fall asleep
    • fall prey to an imposter
    • fall into a strange way of thinking
    • she fell to pieces after she lost her work
  16. verb come under, be classified or included
    come.
    • fall into a category
    • This comes under a new heading
  17. verb fall from clouds
    precipitate; come down.
    • rain, snow and sleet were falling
    • Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on Herculaneum
  18. verb suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
    • We must stand or fall
    • fall by the wayside
  19. verb die, as in battle or in a hunt
    • Many soldiers fell at Verdun
    • Several deer have fallen to the same gun
    • The shooting victim fell dead
  20. verb touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
    shine; strike.
    • Light fell on her face
    • The sun shone on the fields
    • The light struck the golden necklace
    • A strange sound struck my ears
  21. verb be captured
    • The cities fell to the enemy
  22. verb occur at a specified time or place
    • Christmas falls on a Monday this year
    • The accent falls on the first syllable
  23. verb decrease in size, extent, or range
    diminish; decrease; lessen.
    • The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester
    • The cabin pressure fell dramatically
    • her weight fell to under a hundred pounds
    • his voice fell to a whisper
  24. verb yield to temptation or sin
    • Adam and Eve fell
  25. verb lose office or power
    • The government fell overnight
    • The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen
  26. verb to be given by assignment or distribution
    • The most difficult task fell on the youngest member of the team
    • The onus fell on us
    • The pressure to succeed fell on the youngest student
  27. verb move in a specified direction
    • The line of men fall forward
  28. verb be due
    • payments fall on the 1st of the month
  29. verb lose one's chastity
    • a fallen woman
  30. verb to be given by right or inheritance
    • The estate fell to the oldest daughter
  31. verb come into the possession of
    accrue.
    • The house accrued to the oldest son
  32. verb fall to somebody by assignment or lot
    light.
    • The task fell to me
    • It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims
  33. verb be inherited by
    devolve; pass; return.
    • The estate fell to my sister
    • The land returned to the family
    • The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead
  34. verb slope downward
    • The hills around here fall towards the ocean
  35. verb lose an upright position suddenly
    fall down.
    • The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table
    • Her hair fell across her forehead
  36. verb drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
    • She fell back in her chair
    • He fell to his knees
  37. verb fall or flow in a certain way
    flow; hang.
    • This dress hangs well
    • Her long black hair flowed down her back
  38. verb assume a disappointed or sad expression
    • Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off
    • his crest fell
  39. verb be cast down
    • his eyes fell
  40. verb come out; issue
    • silly phrases fell from her mouth
  41. verb be born, used chiefly of lambs
    • The lambs fell in the afternoon
  42. verb begin vigorously
    • The prisoners fell to work right away
  43. verb go as if by falling
    • Grief fell from our hearts
  44. verb come as if by falling
    settle; descend.
    • Night fell
    • Silence fell

WordNet

Fall intransitive verb
Etymology
AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v. t., to cause to fall.
Wordforms
imperfect Fell ; past participle Fallen ; present participle & verbal noun Falling
Definitions
  1. To Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the tide falls; the mercury falls in the barometer.
    I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.Luke x. 18.
  2. To cease to be erect; to take suddenly a recumbent posture; to become prostrate; to drop; as, a child totters and falls; a tree falls; a worshiper falls on his knees.
    I fell at his feet to worship him.Rev. xix. 10.
  3. To find a final outlet; to discharge its waters; to empty; -- with into; as, the river Rhone falls into the Mediterranean.
  4. To become prostrate and dead; to die; especially, to die by violence, as in battle.
    A thousand shall fall at thy side.Ps. xci. 7.
    He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell.Byron.
  5. To cease to be active or strong; to die away; to lose strength; to subside; to become less intense; as, the wind falls.
  6. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; -- said of the young of certain animals.Shak.
  7. To decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to become insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline in weight, value, price etc.; to become less; as, the falls; stocks fell two points.
    I am a poor falle man, unworthy nowTo be thy lord and master.Shak.
    The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished.Sir J. Davies.
  8. To be overthrown or captured; to be destroyed.
    Heaven and earth will witness,If Rome must fall, that we are innocent.Addison.
  9. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin; to depart from the faith; to apostatize; to sin.
    Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.Heb. iv. 11.
  10. To become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be worse off than before; asm to fall into error; to fall into difficulties.
  11. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; -- said of the countenance.
    Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.Gen. iv. 5.
    I have observed of late thy looks are fallen.Addison.
  12. To sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint; as, our spirits rise and fall with our fortunes.
  13. To pass somewha suddenly, and passively, into a new state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall into a passion; to fall in love; to fall into temptation.
  14. To happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to issue; to terminate.
    The Romans fell on this model by chance.Swift.
    Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.Ruth. iii. 18.
    They do not make laws, they fall into customs.H. Spencer.
  15. To come; to occur; to arrive.
    The vernal equinox, which at the Nicene Council fell on the 21st of March, falls now [1694] about ten days sooner.Holder.
  16. To begin with haste, ardor, or vehemence; to rush or hurry; as, they fell to blows.
    They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart and soul.Jowett (Thucyd. ).
  17. To pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution, inheritance, or otherwise; as, the estate fell to his brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.
  18. To belong or appertain.
    If to her share some female errors fall,Look on her face, and you'll forget them all.Pope.
  19. To be dropped or uttered carelessly; as, an unguarded expression fell from his lips; not a murmur fell from him.✍ Fall primarily denotes descending motion, either in a perpendicular or inclined direction, and, in most of its applications, implies, literally or figuratively, velocity, haste, suddenness, or violence. Its use is so various, and so mush diversified by modifying words, that it is not easy to enumerate its senses in all its applications.
Fall transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To let fall; to drop. Obs.
    For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds. Shak.
  2. To sink; to depress; as, to fall the voice. Obs.
  3. To diminish; to lessen or lower. Obs.
    Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities. Locke.
  4. To bring forth; as, to fall lambs. R. Shak.
  5. To fell; to cut down; as, to fall a tree. Prov. Eng. & Local, U.S.
Fall noun
Definitions
  1. The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force of gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the yard of ship.
  2. The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as, he was walking on ice, and had a fall.
  3. Death; destruction; overthrow; ruin.
    They thy fall conspire. Denham.
    Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Prov. xvi. 18.
  4. Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office; termination of greatness, power, or dominion; ruin; overthrow; as, the fall of the Roman empire.
    Beholds thee glorious only in thy fall. Pope.
  5. The surrender of a besieged fortress or town ; as, the fall of Sebastopol.
  6. Diminution or decrease in price or value; depreciation; as, the fall of prices; the fall of rents.
  7. A sinking of tone; cadence; as, the fall of the voice at the close of a sentence.
  8. Declivity; the descent of land or a hill; a slope.
  9. Descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of water down a precipice or steep; -- usually in the plural, sometimes in the singular; as, the falls of Niagara.
  10. The discharge of a river or current of water into the ocean, or into a lake or pond; as, the fall of the Po into the Gulf of Venice. Addison.
  11. Extent of descent; the distance which anything falls; as, the water of a stream has a fall of five feet.
  12. The season when leaves fall from trees; autumn.
    What crowds of patients the town doctor kills, Or how, last fall, he raised the weekly bills. Dryden.
  13. That which falls; a falling; as, a fall of rain; a heavy fall of snow.
  14. The act of felling or cutting down. "The fall of timber." Johnson.
  15. Lapse or declinsion from innocence or goodness. Specifically: The first apostasy; the act of our first parents in eating the forbidden fruit; also, the apostasy of the rebellious angels.
  16. Formerly, a kind of ruff or band for the neck; a falling band; a faule. B. Jonson.
  17. That part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting.

Webster 1913