fall

The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.

Interjection

  1. The cry given when a whale is sighted, or harpooned.

Origin

Perhaps from the north-eastern Scottish pronunciation of whale.

Noun Entry 2

  1. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
    • the fall of the snow
    • the fall of the water
    • the fall of the leaf
  2. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.
    • “I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”. - 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson,...
  3. The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.
    • A friend has pointed out to me the following remark on this word: "In North America the season in which this [the fall of the leaf] takes place, derives its name from that circumstance, and instead of autumn is...
  4. A loss of greatness or status.
    • the fall of Rome
  5. That which falls or cascades.
    • A fall of hair tumbled down one side of her body like a veil. - 2010, Winter Pennington, Witch Wolf:
    • The heat of Daniel's gaze was nearly incendiary as he took in the fall of her hair spilling across her shoulders and down to her elbows. - 2011, Elizabeth Camden, The Lady of Bolton Hill, page 162:
  6. The height of that which falls or cascades.
  7. A crucial event or circumstance.

    1. (cricket, of a wicket) The action of a batsman being out.

    2. (curling) A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction.

    3. (wrestling) An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat.

  8. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.
    • Female patients with localized hair loss on the top of scalp could select a fall or a demiwig to camouflage crown and anterior scalp loss. - 2004, Zoe Diana Draelos, Hair Care: An Illustrated Dermatologic Handbook,...
  9. Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.
    • He set up his rival to take the fall.
  10. The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural).
    • Have the goodness to secure the falls of the mizzen halyards.
    • "[...] with one overhauled fall flying and an iron-bound block capering in the air." - 1919, Joseph Conrad, Typhoon:
  11. An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells.
  12. A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker.
    • Brooks fitted a new fall to his whip. - 1945, Tom Ronan, Strangers on the Ophir, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 113:

Origin

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 fall”), Yiddish פֿאַלן (faln, “to fall”), Danish falde (“to fall”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish falla (“to fall”), Norwegian Bokmål falle (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk falla, falle (“to fall”); also Latin aboleō (“to destroy; to die”), Ancient Greek ὄλλῡμι (óllūmi, “to destroy; to lose”),...

Forms

falls fal

Synonyms

descent drop decrease dip lowering reduction autumn harvest back end downfall rap

Antonyms

ascent rise increase

Related

falls

Derived

accidental fall airfall angle of fall ashfall ash fall backfall bergfall be riding for a fall best-of-three-falls match block and fall break a fall breakfall break-fall break one's fall brothfall byfall catfall center of falls centre of falls chainfall cliff fall cloudfall crossfall darkfall

Noun nautical, transport

  1. The chasing of a hunted whale.

Forms

falls

Derived

loose fall

Verb

  1. To be moved downwards.
    • Thrown from a cliff, the stone fell 100 feet before hitting the ground.
    • I fell unconscious on the floor.
    • There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls. - 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes,...

    1. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.

    2. To come down, to drop or descend.

      • The rain fell at dawn.
      • Her eyes fell on the table, and she advanced into the room wiping her hands on her apron. - 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond:
      • The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out...

    3. To come as if by dropping down.

      • Once or twice a noise fell upon his quick ear, and we halted, he standing revolver in hand in an attitude of defense. Each time, however, we ascertained that we had no occasion for alarm, the noise being made by some...
      • And then a sudden calm fell on us like a cloud of fear. There! on the table, lay the Jewel of Seven Stars, shining and sparkling with lurid light, as though each of the seven points of each of the seven stars gleamed...
      • Shortly afterwards a breeze came up from the N […] dark clouds closing in over everything. At 3 in the afternoon the breeze came up from the S with a thick drizzle. Thus night fell, and thus we passed the rest of it. -...

    4. To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.

      • He fell to the floor and begged for mercy.

    5. To be brought to the ground.

  2. To move downwards.
    • For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds. - 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
    • Ghoaſt [of Clarence]. […] / To morrow in the battaile thinke on me, / And fall thy edgeleſſe ſword, diſpaire and die. - c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr....

    1. (obsolete) To let fall; to drop.

    2. (obsolete) To sink; to depress.

      • to fall the voice

    3. (UK, US, dialect, archaic) To fell; to cut down.

      • to fall a tree
  3. To change, often negatively.
    • Near-synonyms: become, get, go, turn, come, grow, wax
    • She has fallen ill.
    • The children fell asleep in the back of the car.

    Synonyms: become get go turn come grow wax

    1. (copulative, in idiomatic expressions) To become (chiefly used with negative states).

    2. (intransitive) To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated.

      • Rome fell to the Goths in 410 AD.

    3. (intransitive, formal, euphemistic) To die, especially in battle or by disease.

      • This is a monument to all those who fell in the First World War.

    4. (intransitive) To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.).

      • The candidate's poll ratings fell abruptly after the banking scandal.
      • The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and vanished. - 1612, John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued:
      • Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction. - 1835, Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross, Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search...
  4. To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); to happen.
    • Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday.
    • Last year, Commencement fell on June 3.
    • (Thus D-day fell on June 6 rather than the planned June 5.) - 1978, Dwight David Eisenhower, Mamie Doud Eisenhower, Letters to Mamie, Doubleday Books:
  5. To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance.
    • And so it falls to me to make this important decision.
    • The estate fell to his brother.
    • The kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.
  6. To diminish; to lessen or lower.
    • Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall the price of your native commodities. - 1691, [John Locke], Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. […],...
  7. To bring forth.
    • to fall lambs
    • The shepherd[…]did[…] fall part-colour'd lambs - c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
  8. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals.
    • As for Calves newly fallen, you must leave them with good Litter of fresh Straw until such qime as the Cows have licked and cleansed them, - 1672, The Office of the Good House-wife, page 27:
    • My intended remarks are on the cords , and wiping dry the newly fallen calf - 1805, John Lawrence, A general treatise on cattle, the ox, the sheep, and the swine, etc, page 100:
    • another writer, adopting a similar opinion, affirms that it results from the lambs not being docked at a sufficiently early period; for "sometimes the ewe, in the ardour of her maternal affection, chews away the tail...
  9. To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin.
    • Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 4:1:
  10. To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before.
    • to fall into error; to fall into difficulties; to fall into ruin
  11. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face.
    • Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:5:
    • I have observed of late thy looks are fallen. - 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iv, page 8:
  12. To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon).
    • Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ruth 3:18:
    • […]An the worst fall that ever fell, I hope I shall make shift to go without him. - c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
    • […] Polybius tells us, the beſt Government is that which conſiſts of three Forms, Regno, Optimatium, & Populi imperio. Which may be fairly Tranſlated, the Kings, Lords and Commons. […] the Romans fell upon this Model...

Forms

falls falling fell fallen fal

Synonyms

drop plummet plunge come down descend lower oneself prostrate oneself be beat by be defeat by be overthrow by be smitten by be vanquish by die be the responsibility of be up to dip become get cut down fell knock down knock over strike down

Antonyms

ascend go up rise get up pick oneself up stand up beat defeat overthrow smite vanquish

Derived

almost fall off one's chair fall off one's chair nearly fall off one's chair atfall befall bottom falls out catch a falling knife downfall easy as falling off a log fair fall fallable fall aboard fall aboard of fall about fall about someone's ears fall about the place fall abreast of fall abroad of fall across fall adown fall afire fall afoul fall afoul of fall after