| / English Dictionary |
FALL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: fallen , fell
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions)
Example:
they were protected until the capitulation of the fort
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
loss (the act of losing someone or something)
Derivation:
fall (be captured)
fall (lose office or power)
fall (suffer defeat, failure, or ruin)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A sudden drop from an upright position
Example:
he had a nasty spill on the ice
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
slip; trip (an accidental misstep threatening (or causing) a fall)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
pratfall (a fall onto your buttocks)
wipeout (a spill in some sport (as a fall from a bicycle or while skiing or being capsized on a surfboard))
Derivation:
fall (descend in free fall under the influence of gravity)
fall (drop oneself to a lower or less erect position)
fall (lose an upright position suddenly)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity
Example:
a fall from virtue
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
sin; sinning (an act that is regarded by theologians as a transgression of God's will)
Derivation:
fall (yield to temptation or sin)
fall (lose one's chastity)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
Example:
when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
decrease; decrement (the amount by which something decreases)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
correction (a drop in stock market activity or stock prices following a period of increases)
voltage drop (a decrease in voltage along a conductor through which current is flowing)
Derivation:
fall (decrease in size, extent, or range)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A free and rapid descent by the force of gravity
Example:
it was a miracle that he survived the drop from that height
Synonyms:
drop; fall
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
gravitation (movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction)
descent (a movement downward)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
free fall (the ideal falling motion of something subject only to a gravitational field)
plunge (a steep and rapid fall)
precipitation (the act of casting down or falling headlong from a height)
Derivation:
fall (lose an upright position suddenly)
fall (descend in free fall under the influence of gravity)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A movement downward
Example:
the rise and fall of the tides
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
change of location; travel (a movement through space that changes the location of something)
Antonym:
rise (a movement upward)
Derivation:
fall (move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way)
Sense 7
Meaning:
A sudden decline in strength or number or importance
Example:
the fall of the House of Hapsburg
Synonyms:
downfall; fall
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
weakening (becoming weaker)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
anticlimax (a disappointing decline after a previous rise)
Antonym:
rise (a growth in strength or number or importance)
Derivation:
fall (lose office or power)
fall (suffer defeat, failure, or ruin)
Sense 8
Meaning:
When a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
Synonyms:
fall; pin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
triumph; victory (a successful ending of a struggle or contest)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
takedown ((amateur wrestling) being brought to the mat from a standing position)
Holonyms ("fall" is a part of...):
wrestling match (a match between wrestlers)
Sense 9
Meaning:
The lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve
Example:
women have been blamed ever since the Fall
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Instance hypernyms:
event (something that happens at a given place and time)
Derivation:
fall (yield to temptation or sin)
Sense 10
Meaning:
A downward slope or bend
Synonyms:
declension; declination; decline; declivity; descent; downslope; fall
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
incline; side; slope (an elevated geological formation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
downhill (the downward slope of a hill)
steep (a steep place (as on a hill))
Derivation:
fall (slope downward)
Sense 11
Meaning:
The time of day immediately following sunset
Example:
they finished before the fall of night
Synonyms:
crepuscle; crepuscule; dusk; evenfall; fall; gloam; gloaming; nightfall; twilight
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
hour; time of day (clock time)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fall"):
night (a shortening of nightfall)
Holonyms ("fall" is a part of...):
eve; even; evening; eventide (the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall))
Sense 12
Meaning:
The season when the leaves fall from the trees
Example:
in the fall of 1973
Synonyms:
autumn; fall
Classified under:
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations
Hypernyms ("fall" is a kind of...):
season; time of year (one of the natural periods into which the year is divided by the equinoxes and solstices or atmospheric conditions)
Meronyms (parts of "fall"):
Indian summer; Saint Martin's summer (a period of unusually warm weather in the autumn)
autumnal equinox; fall equinox; September equinox (September 22)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they fall ... he / she / it falls
Past simple: fell
Past participle: fallen
-ing form: falling
Sense 1
Meaning:
Pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
Example:
she fell to pieces after she lost her work
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change state; turn (undergo a transformation or a change of position or action)
Also:
drop away; drop off; fall away; slip (get worse)
break; come apart; fall apart; separate; split up (become separated into pieces or fragments)
crumble; fall apart (break or fall apart into fragments)
drop off; fall back; fall behind; recede (retreat)
dawdle; fall back; fall behind; lag (hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.)
fall flat; fall through; flop; founder (fail utterly; collapse)
fall for (be deceived, duped, or entrapped by)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall"):
fall in love (begin to experience feelings of love towards)
drop (fall or sink into a state of exhaustion or death)
Sentence frames:
Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s Adjective
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 2
Meaning:
Decrease in size, extent, or range
Example:
his voice fell to a whisper
Synonyms:
decrease; diminish; fall; lessen
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change magnitude (change in size or magnitude)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall"):
decrescendo (grow quieter)
decelerate; retard; slow; slow down; slow up (lose velocity; move more slowly)
wane (become smaller)
wane (decrease in phase)
decline; go down; wane (grow smaller)
thin out (become sparser)
shorten (become short or shorter)
depreciate; devaluate; devalue; undervalue (lose in value)
de-escalate (diminish in size, scope, or intensity)
remit (diminish or abate)
dwindle; dwindle away; dwindle down (become smaller or lose substance)
deflate (become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air)
break (diminish or discontinue abruptly)
shrink; shrivel (decrease in size, range, or extent)
taper (diminish gradually)
drop off (fall or diminish)
fly; vanish; vaporize (decrease rapidly and disappear)
break (fall sharply)
ease off; ease up; flag; slacken off (become less intense)
weaken (become weaker)
boil down; concentrate; decoct; reduce (be cooked until very little liquid is left)
contract; shrink (become smaller or draw together)
shrink; shrivel; shrivel up; wither (wither, as with a loss of moisture)
abate; die away; let up; slack; slack off (become less in amount or intensity)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
fall (a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Come as if by falling
Example:
Silence fell
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
come (come to pass; arrive, as in due course)
Verb group:
fall (go as if by falling)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 4
Meaning:
Go as if by falling
Example:
Grief fell from our hearts
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
disappear; go away; vanish (get lost, as without warning or explanation)
Verb group:
descend; fall; settle (come as if by falling)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 5
Meaning:
Occur at a specified time or place
Example:
The accent falls on the first syllable
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)
Verb group:
fall (be due)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 6
Meaning:
Begin vigorously
Example:
The prisoners fell to work right away
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
begin; commence; get; get down; set about; set out; start; start out (take the first step or steps in carrying out an action)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 7
Meaning:
Be born, used chiefly of lambs
Example:
The lambs fell in the afternoon
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
be born (come into existence through birth)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 8
Meaning:
Come out; issue
Example:
silly phrases fell from her mouth
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
come forth; come out; egress; emerge; go forth; issue (come out of)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 9
Meaning:
Be cast down
Example:
his eyes fell
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Verb group:
fall (assume a disappointed or sad expression)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 10
Meaning:
Assume a disappointed or sad expression
Example:
his crest fell
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)
Verb group:
fall (be cast down)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 11
Meaning:
Fall or flow in a certain way
Example:
Her long black hair flowed down her back
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Sentence frame:
Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Sense 12
Meaning:
Move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
Example:
Her hand went up and then fell again
Synonyms:
come down; descend; fall; go down
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall"):
cascade; cascade down (rush down in big quantities, like a cascade)
drip (fall in drops)
pounce; swoop (move down on as if in an attack)
go down; go under; settle; sink (go under)
alight; climb down (come down)
pitch (fall or plunge forward)
plop (drop with the sound of something falling into water)
drop (to fall vertically)
topple; tumble (fall down, as if collapsing)
flop (fall suddenly and abruptly)
prolapse (slip or fall out of place, as of body parts)
abseil; rappel; rope down (descend by means of a rappel)
dismount; get down; get off; light; unhorse (alight from (a horse))
avalanche; roll down (gather into a huge mass and roll down a mountain, of snow)
dive; plunge; plunk (drop steeply)
go down; go under; set (disappear beyond the horizon)
correct; decline; slump (go down in value)
precipitate (fall vertically, sharply, or headlong)
sink; subside (descend into or as if into some soft substance or place)
crash (fall or come down violently)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Sentence example:
The airplane is sure to fall
Antonym:
rise (move upward)
Also:
fall in (break down, literally or metaphorically)
Derivation:
fall (a movement downward)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
Example:
The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)
Verb group:
come down; fall; precipitate (fall from clouds)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (a sudden drop from an upright position)
fall (a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity)
faller (a person who falls)
Sense 14
Meaning:
Drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
Example:
He fell to his knees
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)
Verb group:
fall; fall down (lose an upright position suddenly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (a sudden drop from an upright position)
Sense 15
Meaning:
Lose an upright position suddenly
Example:
Her hair fell across her forehead
Synonyms:
fall; fall down
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)
Verb group:
fall (drop oneself to a lower or less erect position)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity)
fall (a sudden drop from an upright position)
Sense 16
Meaning:
Slope downward
Example:
The hills around here fall towards the ocean
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
incline; pitch; slope (be at an angle)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Derivation:
fall (a downward slope or bend)
Sense 17
Meaning:
Move in a specified direction
Example:
The line of men fall forward
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)
Sentence frames:
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 18
Meaning:
Be inherited by
Example:
The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change hands; change owners (be transferred to another owner)
Verb group:
accrue; fall (come into the possession of)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall"):
fall; light (fall to somebody by assignment or lot)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s somebody
Sense 19
Meaning:
Fall to somebody by assignment or lot
Example:
It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims
Synonyms:
fall; light
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
devolve; fall; pass; return (be inherited by)
Verb group:
accrue; fall (come into the possession of)
fall (to be given by assignment or distribution)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Sense 20
Meaning:
Come into the possession of
Example:
The house accrued to the oldest son
Synonyms:
accrue; fall
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
change hands; change owners (be transferred to another owner)
Verb group:
devolve; fall; pass; return (be inherited by)
fall; light (fall to somebody by assignment or lot)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s somebody
Sense 21
Meaning:
Be captured
Example:
The cities fell to the enemy
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
yield (cease opposition; stop fighting)
Verb group:
fall (die, as in battle or in a hunt)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
fall (the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions))
Sense 22
Meaning:
To be given by assignment or distribution
Example:
The pressure to succeed fell on the youngest student
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Verb group:
fall; light (fall to somebody by assignment or lot)
fall (to be given by right or inheritance)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 23
Meaning:
To be given by right or inheritance
Example:
The estate fell to the oldest daughter
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Verb group:
fall (to be given by assignment or distribution)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 24
Meaning:
Lose office or power
Example:
The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
leave office; quit; resign; step down (give up or retire from a position)
Verb group:
fall (die, as in battle or in a hunt)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions))
fall (a sudden decline in strength or number or importance)
Sense 25
Meaning:
Suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
Example:
fall by the wayside
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
fail; go wrong; miscarry (be unsuccessful)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions))
fall (a sudden decline in strength or number or importance)
Sense 26
Meaning:
Yield to temptation or sin
Example:
Adam and Eve fell
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
sin; transgress; trespass (commit a sin; violate a law of God or a moral law)
fall (lose one's chastity)
Verb group:
fall (lose one's chastity)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (a lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity)
Fall (the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve)
Sense 27
Meaning:
Lose one's chastity
Example:
a fallen woman
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Verb group:
fall (yield to temptation or sin)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall"):
fall (yield to temptation or sin)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fall (a lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity)
Sense 28
Meaning:
Touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
Example:
A strange sound struck my ears
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Sense 29
Meaning:
Die, as in battle or in a hunt
Example:
The shooting victim fell dead
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
buy the farm; cash in one's chips; choke; conk; croak; decease; die; drop dead; exit; expire; give-up the ghost; go; kick the bucket; pass; pass away; perish; pop off; snuff it (pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life)
Verb group:
fall (be captured)
fall (lose office or power)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 30
Meaning:
Be due
Example:
payments fall on the 1st of the month
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))
Verb group:
fall (occur at a specified time or place)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Sense 31
Meaning:
Come under, be classified or included
Example:
This comes under a new heading
Synonyms:
come; fall
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "fall" is one way to...):
be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))
Sentence frames:
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 32
Meaning:
Fall from clouds
Example:
Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on Herculaneum
Synonyms:
come down; fall; precipitate
Classified under:
Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering
"Fall" entails doing...:
condense; distil; distill (undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops)
Verb group:
fall (descend in free fall under the influence of gravity)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall"):
rain; rain down (precipitate as rain)
spat (come down like raindrops)
snow (fall as snow)
hail (precipitate as small ice particles)
sleet (precipitate as a mixture of rain and snow)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Context examples:
So that when Dorothy walked across the floor she stumbled over the bar, not being able to see it, and fell at full length.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
I was still drinking in this wonderful panorama when the heavy hand of the Professor fell upon my shoulder.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Still, it did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his back before the blow fell.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
You can also have one if you suffer a blow to the head or hit your head after a fall.
(Concussion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
A dendritic cell neoplasm that does not fall into well-defined categories or shows hybrid features.
(Dendritic Cell Tumor, Not Otherwise Specified, NCI Thesaurus)
A fall can change your life.
(Falls, NIH: National Institute on Aging)
Leach was the last to go, falling sheer back from the top of the scuttle and striking on head and shoulders upon his sprawling mates beneath.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
A question about an individuals likelihood to doze or fall asleep.
(Doze or Fall Asleep, NCI Thesaurus)
Membrane proteins that mediate immune cell-cell interactions fall into different categories, namely those involved in antigen recognition, costimulation and cellular adhesion.
(Cell Adhesion Molecule Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)
The restriction on licensing is relieved when CDK falls off at the completion of mitosis to allow a new round of replication.
(CDK Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
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