English Explanatory Dictionary

fall

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To be moved downwards.
  2. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
  3. To come down, to drop or descend.
  4. To come as if by dropping down.
  5. To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.
  6. To be brought to the ground.
  7. To move downwards.
  8. To let fall; to drop.
  9. To sink; to depress.
  10. To fell; to cut down.
  11. To change, often negatively.
  12. To become (chiefly used with negative states).
noun
  1. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.
  2. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.
  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.
  4. A loss of greatness or status.
  5. That which falls or cascades.
  6. The height of that which falls or cascades.
  7. A crucial event or circumstance.
  8. The action of a batsman being out.
  9. A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction.
  10. An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat.
  11. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.
  12. Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed.
intj
  1. The cry given when a whale is sighted, or harpooned.
noun
  1. The chasing of a hunted whale.
name
  1. The sudden fall of humanity into a state of sin, as brought about by the transgression of Adam and Eve.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

fôl /fɔːl/ /faːl/ /foːl/ /fuːl/ /fɔl/ fäl /fɑl/ En-us-fall.ogg /fo(ː)l/ En-au-fall.ogg

Word forms

fall falls falling fell fallen fal the Fall

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 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”), Armenian եղեռն (eġeṙn, “crime; calamity, catastrophe; slaughter”), Lithuanian pùlti (“to fall; to attack, assault”). Noun from Middle English fal, fall, falle, from Old English feall, ġefeall (“a falling, fall”) and Old English fealle (“trap, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *fallą, *fallaz (“a fall, trap”). Cognate with Yola vall (“fall”), Dutch val (“fall”), German Fall (“fall”), Danish fald (“fall”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish fall (“fall”). Sense of "autumn" is attested by the 1660s in England as a shortening of fall of the leaf (1540s), from the falling of leaves during this season. Along with autumn, it mostly replaced the older name harvest as that name began to be associated strictly with the act of harvesting. Compare spring, which began as a shortening of “spring of the leaf”.

Synonyms

drop plummet plunge come down descend cut down fell knock down knock over strike down lower oneself prostrate oneself become get go turn come grow wax be beat by be defeat by be overthrow by be smitten by be vanquish by die dip be the responsibility of be up to descent decrease lowering reduction autumn harvest back end downfall rap

Antonyms

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

Related words

falls

Derived words

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 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 fallage fall all over someone or oneself fall among fall apart fall around fall asleep fall aslope fall astern fall asunder fall at fall at the crest fall at the final hurdle fall at the first fence fall at the first hurdle fall at the last hurdle fall away fall back fall back, fall edge fall back into fall back on fall back upon fall behind fall behindhand fall below fall between the cracks fall between two stools fall by fall by the wayside fall calm fall classic fall dead fall down fall down on fall due fallen faller fall flat
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