Meanings
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1
verb
To move or drop down toward the ground, usually by accident.
She slipped on the ice and fell.
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2
verb
To come down from the sky, as rain or snow does.
Snow was falling all through the night.
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3
noun
A downward movement; the act of falling.
He had a bad fall and broke his arm.
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4
verb
To become lower in amount, level, or strength.
Prices fell sharply over the winter.
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5
verb
To be defeated, ruined, or lose power.
The ancient city finally fell to its enemies.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
Verb from Middle English fallen, from Old English feallan (“to fall, fail, decay, die, attack”), from Proto-West Germanic *fallan (“to fall”), from Proto-Germanic *fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃elh₁- (“to collapse, fall; to destroy”). Cognates Cognate with Scots faw (“to fall”), Yola vale, vall, vole (“to fall”), North Frisian faal, fåle (“to fall”), Saterland Frisian faale (“to fall”), West Frisian falle (“to fall”), Bavarian foin (“to fall”), Cimbrian ballan, vallan (“to fall”), Dutch vallen (“to fall”), German and Low German fallen (“to fall”), Luxembourgish falen (“to fa…