fall
[verb]
Synonyms:
- descend, cascade, collapse, dive, drop, plummet, plunge, sink, subside, tumble
- decrease, decline, diminish, drop, dwindle, go down, lessen, slump, subside
- be overthrown, capitulate, pass into enemy hands, succumb, surrender
- die, be killed, meet one's end, perish
- occur, befall, chance, come about, come to pass, happen, take place
- slope, fall away, incline
- lapse, err, go astray, offend, sin, transgress, trespass
[noun]
Synonyms:
- descent, dive, drop, nose dive, plummet, plunge, slip, tumble
- decrease, cut, decline, dip, drop, lessening, lowering, reduction, slump
- collapse, capitulation, defeat, destruction, downfall, overthrow, ruin
- lapse, sin, transgression

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Antonyms: rise
Contrasted words: ascend, climb, endure, prevail, resist, conquer, triumph, vanquish, win
Related Idioms: come a cropper, take a header, take a spill
Related Words: decline, dip, plummet, sink, decrease, diminish, lessen, dangle, drag, droop, trail, slip, sprawl, stumble, trip, give up, yield

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English Thesaurus: fall, trip on/over something, slip, stumble, collapse, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Fall, the noun [S]
the story in the Bible that tells how Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, disobeyed God. According to the story, God forbids Adam and Eve from eating the fruit (sometimes called ‘the apple’) on the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The serpent (=snake) persuades Eve to taste the fruit, and then Eve gives the fruit to Adam to eat. They are ashamed of disobeying God and wear fig leaves because they are also now ashamed of having no clothes on. When they tell God that they have eaten the fruit he sends them out of the Garden of Eden. This story is supposed to describe the way that human beings first learnt about the difference between good and evil.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

I. fall¹ S1 W1 /fɔːl $ fɒːl/ verb (past tense fell /fel/, past participle fallen /ˈfɔːlən $ ˈfɒːl-/)
[Language: Old English; Origin: feallan]

1. MOVE DOWNWARDS [intransitive] to move or drop down from a higher position to a lower position:
The tree was about to fall.
The book fell from his hands.
Enough rain had fallen to flood the grounds.
fall down
Rob fell down the stairs.
She flushed and her eyes fell (=she looked down).

2. STOP STANDING/WALKING ETC [intransitive] to suddenly go down onto the ground after you have been standing, walking, or running, especially without intending to:
I fell and hit my head.
slip/stumble/trip etc and fall
He slipped and fell on the ice.
fall down
Lizzie fell down and hurt her knee.
Peter was playing by the river when he fell in (=fell into the water).
fall to/on your knees (=move down to the ground so that your body is resting on your knees)
She fell to her knees beside his body. ⇒ fall flat on your face at flat³(5)

3. DECREASE [intransitive] to go down to a lower level, amount, price etc, especially a much lower one Antonym : rise:
The rate of inflation was falling.
The island is warm all year round and winter temperatures never fall below 10 degrees.
He believes that educational standards are falling.
fall from
Advertising revenue fell from $98.5 million to $93.3 million.
fall to
The number of subscribers had fallen to 1,000.
fall sharply/steeply (=by a large amount)
London share prices fell sharply yesterday.

REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say an amount or level goes down rather than falls:
House prices have gone down again.

4. BECOME [intransitive, linking verb] to start to be in a new or different state
fall adj
I’ll stay with her until she falls asleep.
I think that I’ve fallen in love with Angela.
She fell ill with flu.
Albert fell silent and turned his attention to his food.
fall into
The house was empty for many years and fell into disrepair.
One false step can mean falling into debt.
He fell into despair.

5. BELONG TO A GROUP [intransitive always + preposition] to belong to or be part of a particular group, area of responsibility, range of things, or type of things
fall into
Many illnesses fall into the category of stress-related illnesses.
Leaders fall into two categories.
fall within
The judge said that this matter did not fall within the scope of the auditor’s duties.
fall under
The job falls under the heading of ‘sales and marketing’.
Meat production falls under the control of the Agriculture Department.

6. fall short of something to be less than the amount or standard that is needed or that you want:
This year’s profit will fall short of 13%.
He would sack any of his staff who fell short of his high standards.

7. fall victim/prey to something/somebody to get a very serious illness or be attacked or deceived by someone:
Breastfed babies are less likely to fall victim to stomach disorders.
people who fall victim to violence

8. night/darkness/dusk falls if night etc falls, it starts to become dark at the beginning of the night:
It grew colder as night fell.
Darkness had fallen by the time we reached home.

9. silence/a hush/sadness etc falls literary used to say that a person, group, or place becomes quiet, sad etc:
A long silence fell between us.

10. START DOING SOMETHING [intransitive] to start doing something or being involved with something, often without intending to:
I fell into conversation with some guys from New York.
He had fallen into the habit of having a coffee every time he passed the coffee machine.

11. fall into place
a) if parts of a situation that you have been trying to understand fall into place, you start to understand how they are connected with each other:
Suddenly, all the details started falling into place.
b) if the parts of something that you want to happen fall into place, they start to happen in the way that you want:
I was lucky because everything fell into place at exactly the right time.

12. fall to pieces/bits
a) to break into many pieces Synonym : fall apart:
The book had been well used and finally fell to pieces.
b) if something such as a plan or a relationship falls to pieces, it stops working properly Synonym : fall apart:
The family is falling to pieces.

13. be falling to pieces/bits if something is falling to pieces, it is in very bad condition, especially because it is very old Synonym : be falling apart:
The house is falling to pieces.

14. fall flat if a joke, remark, or performance falls flat, it fails to interest or amuse people:
Marlow’s attempts at jokes fell flat.

15. fall foul of somebody/something to do something which makes someone angry or which breaks a rule, with the result that you are punished:
He is worried that his teenage kids will fall foul of the law.

16. fall by the wayside to fail, or to stop being done, used, or made:
Health reform was one of his goals that fell by the wayside.
Luxury items fall by the wayside during a recession.

17. fall from grace/favour to stop being liked by people in authority:
He fell from grace for the first time when he was convicted of drink-driving.

18. fall from a great height to be forced to leave an important job or position, or lose the respect that people had for you

19. fall into the hands/clutches of somebody if something or someone falls into the hands of an enemy or dangerous person, the enemy etc gets control or possession of them:
He wants to prevent the business falling into the hands of a competitor.
We must not let these documents fall into the wrong hands.

20. fall into a trap/pitfall to make a mistake that many people make:
Don’t fall into the trap of feeling guilty.

21. fall into step
a) to start to walk next to someone else, at the same speed as them
fall into step beside/with
Holly slowed her pace and fell into step with the old man.
b) to start doing something in the same way as the other members of a group
fall into step with
The other countries on the Council are expected to fall into step with the US.

22. fall into line to obey someone or do what other people want you to do, especially when you do not want to do it at first:
Most countries have signed the treaty but some are reluctant to fall into line.

23. HANG DOWN [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to hang down loosely
fall over
His dark hair fell over his face.

24. LIGHT/SHADOW [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to shine on a surface or go onto a surface:
The last rays of sunlight were falling on the fields.
Arthur’s shadow fell across the doorway.

25. SPECIAL EVENT/CELEBRATION [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to happen on a particular day or at a particular time:
I’d like to dedicate this record to all whose anniversaries fall at this time of year.
fall on
Her birthday will fall on a Friday this year.

26. LOSE POWER [intransitive] if a leader or a government falls, they lose their position of power:
The previous government fell after only 6 months in office.

27. BE TAKEN BY AN ENEMY [intransitive] if a place falls in a war or an election, a group of soldiers or a political party takes control of it
fall to
The city fell to the advancing Russian armies.

28. BE KILLED [intransitive] to be killed in a war Synonym : die

29. HIT [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to hit a particular place or a particular part of someone’s body
fall on
The first punch fell on his nose.

30. VOICE/SOUND [intransitive] if someone’s voice or a sound falls, it becomes quieter or lower Antonym : rise

31. it’s as easy as falling off a log spoken used to say that something is very easy to do

32. fall between two stools British English to be neither one type of thing nor another, or be unable to choose between two ways of doing something

33. fall on stony ground British English if a request, suggestion, joke etc falls on stony ground, it is ignored or people do not like it

34. fall from sb’s lips literary if words fall from someone’s lips, they say them

35. fall into sb’s lap if an opportunity falls into someone’s lap, they get it without having made any effort to get it

36. the stress/accent/beat falls on something used to say that a particular part of a word, phrase, or piece of music is emphasized or is played more loudly than the rest:
In the word ‘report’, the stress falls on the second syllable.
⇒ be/fall under a spell at spell²(3), ⇒ fall on your feet at foot¹(19), ⇒ sb’s face fell at face¹(2), ⇒ stand or fall by/on at stand¹(33)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. fall² S2 W2 noun

1. MOVEMENT DOWN [countable] movement down towards the ground or towards a lower position:
the first fall of autumn leaves
The rise and fall of the dancers’ bodies creates a pattern.
Mrs Evans had a fall (=fell to the ground) and broke her leg.
He stretched out his hands to break his fall (=prevent himself from falling too quickly and hurting himself).

2. REDUCTION [countable] a reduction in the amount, level, price etc of something Antonym : rise
fall in
There has been a fall in oil prices.
sharp/steep fall
the sharp fall in the birth rate in European countries
fall of
Their industrial output went down again in December, which meant a fall of 2.2% over the year.

3. SEASON [singular] American English the season between summer and winter, when leaves change colour and the weather becomes slightly colder Synonym : autumn:
Eleanor plans to go to Southwestern Community College this fall.
The area is beautiful in the fall.

4. LOSS OF POWER/SUCCESS [singular] a situation in which someone or something loses their position of power or becomes unsuccessful
fall from
The president lived on for twenty years after his fall from power.
the story of Napoleon’s rise and fall (=period of success followed by failure)
Rumours are that the company is heading for a fall (=is likely to fail soon).

5. fall from grace a situation in which someone stops being respected by other people or loses their position of authority, especially because they have done something wrong:
He was the head of the intelligence service until his fall from grace.

6. DEFEAT [singular] a situation in which a country, city etc is defeated by an enemy
fall of
the fall of Jerusalem in AD70

7. falls (also Falls) [plural] a place where a river suddenly goes straight down over a cliff:
The spray from the falls is so dense that you can hardly see.
Niagara Falls

8. SPORT [countable] an act of forcing your opponent onto the ground in wrestling or judo

9. SNOW/ROCKS [countable] an amount of snow, rocks etc that falls onto the ground
fall of
Fresh falls of snow were forecast.
The road is blocked by a rock fall.

10. the Fall (also the fall) the occasion in the Bible when God punished Adam and Eve by making them leave the Garden of Eden

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fall
noun
I. accident
ADJ. bad, nasty, terrible She took a bad fall while out riding.
accidental
VERB + FALL have, suffer, take The doctor says she's had a very nasty fall.
break, cushion Luckily a bush broke his fall.
survive The chances of surviving a fall under a train are almost nil.
PREP. in a/the ~ He was hurt in a fall at his home yesterday.
~ from She broke her neck in a fall from a horse.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
II. of snow/rocks
ADJ. heavy | light | fresh a fresh fall of snow
rock, snow (also snowfall)
PREP. ~ of covered by a light fall of volcanic ash

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
III. decrease
ADJ. big, dramatic, great, large, marked, massive, significant, substantial a big fall in house prices This triggered the recent dramatic falls on the Tokyo stock exchange.
modest, slight, small | steady | rapid, sharp, steep, sudden, swift | expected, projected a projected fall of 2%
unexpected | continuing, further | overall | catastrophic
VERB + FALL bring, cause, contribute to, lead to, trigger | see, suffer Share prices suffered a slight fall yesterday.
record, reveal, show The opinion polls show a significant fall in her popularity.
report Both companies reported a fall in profits in the first quarter of this year.
represent This figure represents a fall of 21% on the same period last year.
FALL + VERB occur The fall in age at first marriage occurred during the second half of the 18th century.
PREP. ~ in a large fall in share prices

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
IV. defeat
VERB + FALL bring about, cause, contribute to, lead to the actions that led to his eventual fall from power
PREP. ~ from
PHRASES the rise and fall of sth a book charting the rise and fall of the Habsburg Empire

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
verb
I. drop down towards the ground
ADV. heavily She fell heavily to the ground.
steadily The rain was falling steadily.
down, off, overboard A tile fell off the roof. He fell overboard in heavy seas.
VERB + FALL be about to | let sb/sth She lifted her arm, but then let it fall.
PREP. from, into One of the kids fell into the river.
on the snow falling on the fields
onto Loose bricks were falling down onto the ground.
to The plate fell to the floor.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
II. suddenly stop standing
ADV. almost, nearly He stumbled and almost fell.
headlong She fell headlong, with a cry of alarm.
down, over One of the children fell over.
VERB + FALL be about to The house looked as if it was about to fall down.
PHRASES stumble/trip and fall

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
III. decrease
ADV. dramatically, sharply, significantly, steeply The price of coal fell sharply.
slightly | steadily
VERB + FALL be expected to, be likely to Demand is likely to fall by some 15%.
continue to
PREP. below Winter temperatures never fall below 10°C.
by Expenditure on education fell by 10% last year.
from The number of people unemployed has fallen from two million to just over one and a half million.
to Her voice fell to a whisper.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
IV. belong to a group
ADV. squarely
PREP. into Out of over 400 staff there are just 14 that fall into this category.
outside That topic falls outside the scope of this thesis.
under This falls under the heading of scientific research.
within This case falls squarely within the committee's jurisdiction.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fall
I.
noun
BAD: This problem has been caused by a fall of the birth rate.
GOOD: This problem has been caused by a fall in the birth rate.

Usage Note:
a fall in an amount, rate, level, standard etc: 'Sharp falls in house prices have renewed the interest of the first-time buyer.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

fall
II.
verb
See GROUND 6 (ground)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

fall (also fall over, fall down) to suddenly go down onto the floor when standing, walking, or running:
She fell on the stairs and broke her ankle.
Children are always falling over.
trip on/over something to fall or almost fall when you hit your foot against something:
Someone might trip over those toys.
I tripped on a piece of wood.
slip to fall or almost fall when you are walking on a wet or very smooth surface:
She slipped and hurt her ankle.
I was scared I would slip on the highly polished floor.
stumble to almost fall when you put your foot down in an awkward way:
He stumbled and almost fell.
One of our porters stumbled on the rough ground.
collapse to fall suddenly and heavily to the ground, especially when you become unconscious:
One of the runners collapsed halfway through the race.
lose your balance to become unsteady so that you start to fall over:
She lost her balance on the first step and fell down the stairs.
Have something to hold onto, in case you lose your balance.
fall flat on your face to fall forwards so you are lying on your front on the ground:
She fell flat on her face getting out of the car.
decrease used when the number, amount, or level of something becomes less than it used to be:
There has been a significant decrease in the number of deaths from lung cancer.
a 5% decrease in housing prices
reduction used when the price, amount, or level of something is made lower:
There will be further price reductions in the sales.
A small reduction in costs can mean a large increase in profits.
cut used when a government or company reduces the price, amount, or level of something:
a 1% cut in interest rates
tax cuts
It is possible that there will be further job cuts.
drop/fall used when the number, amount, or level of something goes down, especially by a large amount:
The figures showed a sharp fall in industrial output.
There was a dramatic drop in temperature.
decline used when the number, amount, level, or standard of something goes down, especially gradually:
During the 1970s, there was a gradual decline in the birthrate.
a decline in educational standards

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fall
fɔ:l
See: bottom drop out or bottom fall out , riding for a fall

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲