fall

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To move or drop down toward the ground, usually by accident.

   She slipped on the ice and fell.

2. 2
   verb

   To come down from the sky, as rain or snow does.

   Snow was falling all through the night.

3. 3
   noun

   A downward movement; the act of falling.

   He had a bad fall and broke his arm.

4. 4
   verb

   To become lower in amount, level, or strength.

   Prices fell sharply over the winter.

5. 5
   verb

   To be defeated, ruined, or lose power.

   The ancient city finally fell to its enemies.

Multiword verbs with fall

• fall apart Phrasal verb A2

  to break into separate pieces or stop holding together

• fall off Phrasal verb A2

  to become detached and drop away from something

• fall over Phrasal verb A2

  to lose an upright position and drop down

• fall under Prepositional verb A2

  to be included within a particular category or area of responsibility

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Fall is recorded in Old English, where it was used for literal falling while befall commonly expressed the figurative sense “happen.” The name of the season is a shortening of fall of leaf; it was standard in British English from the mid-16th century and survived there into at least the early 20th century, though it later became especially associated with American English.

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…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary