Etymology: (bef. 900; ME; OE feallan; c. OFris, ON falla, OS, OHG fallan)
Definition of 'fall'
Princeton's WordNet
1. (noun)fall, autumn the season when the leaves fall from the trees "in the fall of 1973"
2. (noun)spill, tumble, fall a sudden drop from an upright position "he had a nasty spill on the ice"
3. (noun)Fall the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of Adam and Eve "women have been blamed ever since the Fall"
4. (noun)descent, declivity, fall, decline, declination, declension, downslope a downward slope or bend
5. (noun)fall a lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity "a fall from virtue"
6. (noun)fall, downfall a sudden decline in strength or number or importance "the fall of the House of Hapsburg"
7. (noun)fall a movement downward "the rise and fall of the tides"
8. (noun)capitulation, fall, surrender the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions) "they were protected until the capitulation of the fort"
9. (noun)twilight, dusk, gloaming, gloam, nightfall, evenfall, fall, crepuscule, crepuscle the time of day immediately followingsunset "he loved the twilight"; "they finished before the fall of night"
10. (noun)fall, pin when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
11. (noun)drop, fall a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity "it was a miracle that he survived the drop from that height"
12. (verb)drop, dip, fall, free fall a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity "a drop of 57 points on the Dow Jones index"; "there was a drop in pressure in the pulmonary artery"; "a dip in prices"; "when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall"
13. (verb)fall descend in free fall under the influence of gravity "The branch fell from the tree"; "The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse"
14. (verb)descend, fall, go down, come down move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way "The temperature is going down"; "The barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again"
15. (verb)fall pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind "fall into a trap"; "She fell ill"; "They fell out of favor"; "Fall in love"; "fall asleep"; "fall prey to an imposter"; "fall into a strange way of thinking"; "she fell to pieces after she lost her work"
16. (verb)fall, come come under, be classified or included "fall into a category"; "This comes under a new heading"
17. (verb)precipitate, come down, fall fall from clouds "rain, snow and sleet were falling"; "Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on Herculaneum"
18. (verb)fall suffer defeat, failure, or ruin "We must stand or fall"; "fall by the wayside"
19. (verb)fall die, as in battle or in a hunt "Many soldiers fell at Verdun"; "Several deer have fallen to the same gun"; "The shooting victim fell dead"
20. (verb)fall, shine, strike touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly "Light fell on her face"; "The sun shone on the fields"; "The light struck the golden necklace"; "A strange sound struck my ears"
21. (verb)fall be captured "The cities fell to the enemy"
22. (verb)fall occur at a specified time or place "Christmas falls on a Monday this year"; "The accent falls on the first syllable"
23. (verb)decrease, diminish, lessen, fall decrease in size, extent, or range "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"
24. (verb)fall yield to temptation or sin "Adam and Eve fell"
25. (verb)fall lose office or power "The government fell overnight"; "The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen"
26. (verb)fall to be given by assignment or distribution "The most difficult task fell on the youngest member of the team"; "The onus fell on us"; "The pressure to succeed fell on the youngest student"
27. (verb)fall move in a specified direction "The line of men fall forward"
28. (verb)fall be due "payments fall on the 1st of the month"
29. (verb)fall lose one's chastity "a fallen woman"
30. (verb)fall to be given by right or inheritance "The estate fell to the oldest daughter"
31. (verb)accrue, fall come into the possession of "The house accrued to the oldest son"
32. (verb)fall, light fall to somebody by assignment or lot "The task fell to me"; "It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims"
33. (verb)fall, return, pass, devolve be inherited by "The estate fell to my sister"; "The land returned to the family"; "The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead"
34. (verb)fall slope downward "The hills around here fall towards the ocean"
35. (verb)fall, fall down lose an uprightposition suddenly "The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table"; "Her hair fell across her forehead"
36. (verb)fall drop oneself to a lower or less erect position "She fell back in her chair"; "He fell to his knees"
37. (verb)hang, fall, flow fall or flow in a certain way "This dress hangs well"; "Her long black hair flowed down her back"
38. (verb)fall assume a disappointed or sad expression "Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off"; "his crest fell"
1. (verb)fall to movedown to the ground from a higher place The book fell off the table.; The baby bird had fallen out of the tree.; We watched the snow/rain fall.
2. fall to hit the ground after beingupright She slipped and fell.; The chair fell on top of the cat.
3. fall ≠ rise the season when temperatures begin to fall; prices falling by 20%
4. fall (of hair or fabric) to hangdown Her hair fell over her eyes.
5. fall to die or be defeated soldiers who have fallen in battle; The Rockies fell to the Red Sox, 2-1.
6. fall to pass into a state I fell asleep immediately.; She suddenly fell silent.
7. fall to belong in a category That $20 falls under travel expenses.
8. fall to happen or occur Darkness fell.
9. fall fall in love to begin to love sb We were young when we fell in love.
10. fall fall into place (of parts of a confusing situation) to become clearly connected in your mind Suddenly everything fell into place, and I knew what to do.
11. fall fall short to not reach the expected level or standard We fell short of the goal by $1500.
12. (noun)fall the season between summer and winter; = autumn in (the) fall when kids go back to school; fall temperatures
4. (noun)fall downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office; termination of greatness, power, or dominion; ruin; overthrow; as, the fall of the Romanempire
9. (noun)fall descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of waterdown a precipice or steep; -- usually in the plural, sometimes in the singular; as, the falls of Niagara
16. (noun)fall formerly, a kind of ruff or band for the neck; a falling band; a faule
17. (noun)fall that part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting
18. (verb)fall to Descend, either suddenly or gradually; particularly, to descend by the force of gravity; to drop; to sink; as, the apple falls; the tide falls; the mercuryfalls in the barometer
19. (verb)fall to cease to be erect; to take suddenly a recumbent posture; to become prostrate; to drop; as, a child totters and falls; a tree falls; a worshiperfalls on his knees
21. (verb)fall to become prostrate and dead; to die; especially, to die by violence, as in battle
22. (verb)fall to cease to be active or strong; to die away; to lose strength; to subside; to become less intense; as, the windfalls
23. (verb)fall to issueforth into life; to be brought forth; -- said of the young of certain animals
24. (verb)fall to decline in power, glory, wealth, or importance; to become insignificant; to lose rank or position; to decline in weight, value, price etc.; to become less; as, the falls; stocksfell two points
25. (verb)fall to be overthrown or captured; to be destroyed
26. (verb)fall to descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin; to depart from the faith; to apostatize; to sin
27. (verb)fall to become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be worse off than before; asm to fall into error; to fall into difficulties
28. (verb)fall to assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; -- said of the countenance
29. (verb)fall to sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint; as, our spiritsrise and fall with our fortunes
30. (verb)fall to pass somewhat suddenly, and passively, into a new state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall into a passion; to fall in love; to fall into temptation
31. (verb)fall to happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to issue; to terminate
32. (verb)fall to come; to occur; to arrive
33. (verb)fall to begin with haste, ardor, or vehemence; to rush or hurry; as, they fell to blows
34. (verb)fall to pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution, inheritance, or otherwise; as, the estatefell to his brother; the kingdomfell into the hands of his rivals
35. (verb)fall to belong or appertain
36. (verb)fall to be dropped or uttered carelessly; as, an unguarded expressionfell from his lips; not a murmurfell from him