FALL - 15 definitions found
Websters 1828 Dictionary 
Fall FALL, v.i. pret. fell; pp. fallen. [L. fallo, to fail, to deceive,
Gr.; Heb. to fall. Fail agrees better with Heb., but these words may
have had one primitive root, the sense of which was to move, to recede,
to pass. See Foul.] 1. To drop from a higher place; to descend by
the power of gravity alone. Rain falls from the clouds; a man falls from
his horse; ripe fruits fall from trees; an ox falls into a pit.
I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Luke 10. 2. To drop
from an erect posture. I fell at his feet to worship him. Rev 19.
3. To disembogue; to pass at the outlet; to flow out of its channel into
a pond, lake or sea, as a river. The Rhone falls into the Mediterranean
sea. The Danube falls into the Euxine. The Mississippi falls into the
gulf of Mexico. 4. To depart from the faith, or from rectitude;
to apostatize. Adam fell by eating the forbidden fruit. Labor
to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. Heb 4. 5. To die; particularly by violence. Ye shall
chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Lev
26. A thousand shall fall at thy side. Psa 91. 6. To come to an
end suddenly; to vanish; to perish. The greatness of these Irish lords
suddenly fell and vanished. 7. To be degraded; to sink into disrepute
or disgrace; to be plunged into misery; as, to fall from an elevated
station, or from a prosperous state. 8. To decline in power, wealth
or glory; to sink into weakness; to be overthrown or ruined. This is the
renowned Tyre; but oh, how fallen. Heaven and earth will witness, if
Rome must fall, that we are innocent. 9. To pass into a worse state
than the former; to come; as, to fall into difficulties; to fall under
censure of imputation; to fall into error or absurdity; to fall into a
snare. In these and similar phrases, the sense of suddenness, accident
or ignorance is often implied; but not always. 10. To sink; to be
lowered. The mercury in a thermometer rises and falls with the increase
and diminution of heat. The water of a river rises and falls. The tide
falls. 11. To decrease; to be diminished in weight or value. The
price of goods falls with plenty and rises with scarcity. Pliny tells
us, the as fell from a pound to two ounces in the first Punic war.
12. To sink; not to amount to the full. The greatness of finances and
revenue doth fall under computation. 13. To be rejected; to sink into
disrepute. This book must stand or fall with thee. 14. To decline
from violence to calmness from intensity to remission. The wind falls and
a calm succeeds. At length her fury fell. 15. To pass into a new
state of body or mind; to become; as, to fall asleep; to fall distracted;
to fall sick; to fall into rage or passion; to fall in love; to fall
into temptation. 16. To sink into an air of dejection, discontent,
anger, sorrow or shame; applied to the countenance or look. Cain was
very wroth, and his countenance fell. Gen 4. I have observed of late
thy looks are fallen. 17. To happen; to befall; to come. Since
this fortune falls to you. 18. To light on; to come by chance.
The Romans fell on this model by chance. 19. To come; to rush on;
to assail. Fear and dread shall fall on them. Exo 15. And fear
fell on them all. Acts 19. 20. To come; to arrive. The vernal
equinox, which at the Nicene council fell on the 21st of March, falls now
about ten days sooner. 21. To come unexpectedly. It happened this
evening that we fell into a pleasing walk. 22. To begin with haste,
ardor or vehemence; to rush or hurry to. They fell to blows. The mixt
multitude fell to lusting. Num 11. 23. To pass or be transferred by
chance, lot, distribution, inheritance or otherwise, as possession or
property. The estate or the province fell to his brother. The kingdom
fell into the hands of his rival. A large estate fell to his heirs.
24. To become the property of; to belong or appertain to. If to her
share some female errors fall. Look in her face; and you'll forget
them all. 25. To be dropped or uttered carelessly. Some expressions
fell from him. An unguarded expression fell from his lips. Not a word
fell from him on the subject. 26. To sink; to languish; to become
feeble or faint. Our hopes and fears rise and fall with good or ill
success. 27. To be brought forth. Take care of lambs when they
first fall. 28. To issue; to terminate. Sit still, my daughter,
till thou knowest how the matter will fall. Ruth 3. To fall aboard
of, to strike against another ship. To fall astern, to move or be
driven backward; or to remain behind. A ship falls astern by the force
of a current, or when outsailed by another. 1. To fall away, to lose
flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to pine. 2. To renounce or desert
allegiance; to revolt or rebel. 3. To renounce or desert the faith;
to apostatize; to sink into wickedness. These for awhile believe,
and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8. 4. To perish; to be
ruined; to be lost. How can the soul - fall away into nothing.
5. To decline gradually; to fade; to languish, or become faint.
One color falls away by just degrees, and another rises insensibly.
1. To fall back, to recede; to give way. 2. To fail of performing a
promise or purpose; not to fulfill. To fall calm, to cease to blow;
to become calm. 1. To fall down, to prostrate one's self in
worship. All nations shall fall down before him. Psa 72. 2. To
sink; to come to the ground. Down fell the beauteous youth.
3. To bend or bow as a suppliant. Isa 14. 4. To sail or pass towards
the mouth of a river, or other outlet. To fall foul, to attack; to
make an assault. 1. To fall from, to recede from; to depart; not to
adhere; as, to fall from an agreement or engagement. 2. To depart from
allegiance or duty; to revolt. 1. To fall in, to concur; to agree
with. The measure falls in with popular opinion. 2. To comply; to
yield to. You will find it difficult to persuade learned men to fall
in with your projects. 3. To come in; to join; to enter. Fall into
the ranks; fall in on the right. To fall in with, to meet, as a ship;
also, to discover or come near, as land. 1. To fall off, to withdraw;
to separate; to be broken or detached. friends fall off in adversity.
Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide. 2. To perish; to
die away. Words fall off by disuse. 3. To apostatize; to forsake;
to withdraw from the faith, or from allegiance or duty. Those
captive tribes fell off from God to worship calves. 4. To forsake;
to abandon. His subscribers fell off. 5. To drop. Fruits fall off
when ripe. 6. To depreciate; to depart from former excellence; to
become less valuable or interesting. The magazine or the review falls
off; it has fallen off. 7. To deviate or depart from the course
directed, or to which the head of the ship was before directed; to fall
to leeward. 1. To fall on, to begin suddenly and eagerly. Fall
on, and try thy appetite to eat. 2. To begin an attack; to assault;
to assail. Fall on, fall on and hear him not. 3. To drop on;
to descend on. 1. To fall out, to quarrel; to begin to contend.
A soul exasperated in ills, falls out with every thing, its friend,
itself - 2. To happen; to befall; to chance. There fell out a
bloody quarrel betwixt the frogs and the mice. 1. To fall over, to
revolt; to desert from one side to another. 2. To fall beyond.
To fall short, to be deficient. The corn falls short. We all fall
short in duty. 1. To fall to, to begin hastily and eagerly.
Fall to, with eager joy, on homely food. 2. To apply one's self
to. He will never after fall to labor. They fell to raising money,
under pretense of the relief of Ireland. 1. To fall under, to come
under, or within the limits of; to be subjected to. They fell under the
jurisdiction of the emperor. 2. To come under; to become the subject
of. This point did not fall under the cognizance or deliberations of the
court. These things do not fall under human sight or observation.
3. To come within; to be ranged or reckoned with. These substances fall
under a different class or order. 1. To upon, to attack. [See to
fall on.] 2. To rush against. Fall primarily denotes descending
motion, either in a perpendicular or inclined direction, and in most
of its applications, implies literally or figuratively velocity, haste,
suddenness or violence. Its use is so various and so much diversified by
modifying words, that it is not easy to enumerate its senses in all its
applications. FALL, v.t. 1. To let fall; to drop. And
fall thy edgeless sword. I am willing to fall this argument.
[This application is obsolete.] 2. To sink; to depress; as, to
raise or fall the voice. 3. To diminish; to lessen or lower; as,
to fall the price of commodities. [Little used.] 4. To bring forth;
as, to fall lambs. [Little used.] 5. To fell; to cut down; as,
to fall a tree. [This use is now common in America, and fell and fall
are probably from a common root.] FALL, n. 1. The act
of dropping or descending from a higher to a lower place by gravity;
descent; as a fall from a horse or from the yard of a ship. 2. The
act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture. he was walking on ice
and had a fall. 3. Death; destruction; overthrow. Our fathers
had a great fall before our enemies. 4. Ruin; destruction. They
conspire thy fall. 5. Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or
office; as the fall of Cardinal Wolsey. Behold thee glorious only
in thy fall. 6. Declension of greatness, power or dominion; ruin;
as the fall of the Roman empire. 7. Diminution; decrease of price or
value; depreciation; as the fall of prices; the fall of rents; the fall
of interest. 8. Declination of sound; a sinking of tone; cadence; as
the fall of the voice at the close of a sentence. 9. Declivity; the
descent of land or a hill; a slope. 10. Descent of water; a cascade;
a cataract; a rush of water down a steep place; usually in the plural;
sometimes in the singular; as the falls of Niagara, or the Mohawk; the
fall of the Hoosatonuc at Canaan. Fall is applied to a perpendicular
descent, or to one that is very steep. When the descent is moderate, we
name it rapids. Custom, however, sometimes deviates from this rule, and
the rapids of rivers are called falls. 11. The outlet or discharge
of a river or current of water into the ocean, or into a lake or pond;
as the fall of the Po into the gulf of Venice. 12. Extent of descent;
the distance which any thing falls; as, the water of a pond has a fall
of five feet. 13. The fall of the leaf; the season when leaves fall
from trees; autumn. 14. That which falls; a falling; as a fall
of rain or snow. 15. The act of felling or cutting down; as the
fall of timber. 16. Fall, or the fall, by way of distinction, the
apostasy; the act of our first parents in eating the forbidden fruit;
also, the apostasy of the rebellious angels. 17. Formerly, a kind
of vail. 18. In seamen's language, the loose end of a tackle.
19. In Great Britain, a term applied to several measures, linear,
superficial and solid.
WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) 
fall
n 1: the season when the leaves fall from the trees; "in the
fall of 1973" [syn: fall, autumn]
2: a sudden drop from an upright position; "he had a nasty spill
on the ice" [syn: spill, tumble, fall]
3: the lapse of mankind into sinfulness because of the sin of
Adam and Eve; "women have been blamed ever since the Fall"
4: a downward slope or bend [syn: descent, declivity,
fall, decline, declination, declension, downslope]
[ant: acclivity, ascent, climb, raise, rise,
upgrade]
5: a lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity; "a fall
from virtue"
6: a sudden decline in strength or number or importance; "the
fall of the House of Hapsburg" [syn: fall, downfall]
[ant: rise]
7: a movement downward; "the rise and fall of the tides" [ant:
ascension, ascent, rise, rising]
8: the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions);
"they were protected until the capitulation of the fort"
[syn: capitulation, fall, surrender]
9: the time of day immediately following sunset; "he loved the
twilight"; "they finished before the fall of night" [syn:
twilight, dusk, gloaming, gloam, nightfall,
evenfall, fall, crepuscule, crepuscle]
10: when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat [syn:
fall, pin]
11: a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity; "it was a
miracle that he survived the drop from that height" [syn:
drop, fall]
12: 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" [syn: drop, dip, fall, free fall]
v 1: descend in free fall under the influence of gravity; "The
branch fell from the tree"; "The unfortunate hiker fell
into a crevasse"
2: 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" [syn: descend, fall, go down, come down]
[ant: arise, ascend, come up, go up, lift, move
up}, rise, uprise]
3: 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"
4: come under, be classified or included; "fall into a
category"; "This comes under a new heading" [syn: fall,
come]
5: fall from clouds; "rain, snow and sleet were falling";
"Vesuvius precipitated its fiery, destructive rage on
Herculaneum" [syn: precipitate, come down, fall]
6: suffer defeat, failure, or ruin; "We must stand or fall";
"fall by the wayside"
7: 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"
8: 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"
[syn: fall, shine, strike]
9: be captured; "The cities fell to the enemy"
10: occur at a specified time or place; "Christmas falls on a
Monday this year"; "The accent falls on the first syllable"
11: 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" [syn:
decrease, diminish, lessen, fall] [ant: increase]
12: yield to temptation or sin; "Adam and Eve fell"
13: lose office or power; "The government fell overnight"; "The
Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen"
14: 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"
15: move in a specified direction; "The line of men fall
forward"
16: be due; "payments fall on the 1st of the month"
17: lose one's chastity; "a fallen woman"
18: to be given by right or inheritance; "The estate fell to the
oldest daughter"
19: come into the possession of; "The house accrued to the
oldest son" [syn: accrue, fall]
20: fall to somebody by assignment or lot; "The task fell to
me"; "It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims"
[syn: fall, light]
21: 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" [syn: fall,
return, pass, devolve]
22: slope downward; "The hills around here fall towards the
ocean"
23: lose an upright position suddenly; "The vase fell over and
the water spilled onto the table"; "Her hair fell across her
forehead" [syn: fall, fall down]
24: drop oneself to a lower or less erect position; "She fell
back in her chair"; "He fell to his knees"
25: fall or flow in a certain way; "This dress hangs well"; "Her
long black hair flowed down her back" [syn: hang, fall,
flow]
26: assume a disappointed or sad expression; "Her face fell when
she heard that she would be laid off"; "his crest fell"
27: be cast down; "his eyes fell"
28: come out; issue; "silly phrases fell from her mouth"
29: be born, used chiefly of lambs; "The lambs fell in the
afternoon"
30: begin vigorously; "The prisoners fell to work right away"
31: go as if by falling; "Grief fell from our hearts"
32: come as if by falling; "Night fell"; "Silence fell" [syn:
fall, descend, settle]
English Language Idioms 
fall
fɔ:l See: BOTTOM DROP OUT or BOTTOM FALL OUT, RIDING FOR A FALL.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) 
fall I. verb (fell; fallen; falling)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English feallan; akin to
Old High German fallan to fall and perhaps to Lithuanian pulti
Date: before 12th century intransitive verb
1. a. to descend freely by the force of gravity b.
to hang freely <her hair falls over her shoulders>
c. to drop oneself to a lower position <fell to
his knees> d. to come or go as if by falling <darkness
falls early in the winter>
2. to become born — usually used of lambs 3.
a. to become lower in degree or level <the temperature
fell 10°> b. to drop in pitch or volume <their
voices fell to a whisper> c. issue 1a, b <wisdom
that fell from his lips> d. to become lowered <her
eyes fell>
4. a. to leave an erect position suddenly and involuntarily
<slipped and fell on the ice> b. to enter as if
unawares ; stumble, stray <fell into error>
c. to drop down wounded or dead; especially to die in
battle d. to suffer military capture <after a long siege the
city fell> e. to lose office <the party fell
from power> f. to suffer ruin, defeat, or failure <the
deal fell through>
5. to commit an immoral act; especially to lose one's
chastity 6.
a. to move or extend in a downward direction <the land
falls away to the east> b. subside, abate
<the wind is falling> c. to decline in quality,
activity, or quantity <production fell off> d. to
lose weight — used with off or away e. to assume a
look of shame, disappointment, or dejection <his face fell>
f. to decline in financial value or price <stocks fell
sharply>
7. a. to occur at a certain time <her birthday
falls on a Monday this year> b. to come by
chance <a job that fell into his hands> c. to come
or pass by lot, assignment, or inheritance ; devolve <it
fell to him to break the news> d. to have a certain or
proper position, place, or station <the accent falls
on the second syllable>
8. to come within the limits, scope, or jurisdiction of something
<this word falls into the class of verbs> 9. to
pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind or a new state or
condition <fall asleep> <fall in love> 10.
to set about heartily or actively <fell to work> 11.
strike, impinge <music falling on the ear>
transitive verb fell 1
II. noun Date: 13th century 1. the act of
falling by the force of gravity 2.
a. a falling out, off, or away ; dropping <the
fall of leaves> <a fall of snow> b. the
season when leaves fall from trees ; autumn c. a thing
or quantity that falls or has fallen <a fall of rock at the
base of the cliff>; especially one or more meteorites or their
fragments that have fallen together d.
(1) birth (2) the quantity born — usually used of lambs
3. a. a costume decoration of lace or thin fabric arranged
to hang loosely and gracefully b. a very wide turned-down collar
worn in the 17th century c. the part of a turnover collar from
the crease to the outer edge d. a wide front flap on trousers
(as those worn by sailors) e. the freely hanging lower edge of
the skirt of a coat f. one of the three outer and often drooping
segments of the flower of an iris g. long hair overhanging the
face of dogs of some breeds h. a usually long straight portion of
hair that is attached to a person's own hair
4. a hoisting-tackle rope or chain; especially the part of
it to which the power is applied 5.
a. loss of greatness ; collapse <the fall
of the Roman Empire> b. the surrender or capture of a besieged
place <the fall of Troy> c. lapse or departure from
innocence or goodness d. loss of a woman's chastity e. the
blame for a failure or misdeed <took the fall for the robbery>
6. a. the downward slope (as of a hill) ; declivity
b. a precipitous descent of water ; waterfall — usually
used in plural but sing. or plural in constr. c. a musical cadence
d. a falling-pitch intonation in speech
7. a decrease in size, quantity, degree, or value 8.
a. the distance which something falls b. inclination,
pitch
9. a. the act of felling something b. the quantity
of trees cut down c.
(1) an act of forcing a wrestler's shoulders to the mat for a
specified time (as one second) (2) a bout of wrestling
10. Scottish destiny, lot III. adjective
Date: 1677 of, relating to, or suitable for autumn <a new
fall coat>
Oxford English Reference Dictionary 
fall v. & n. --v.intr. (past fell; past part. fallen) 1 a go or come down freely; descend rapidly from a higher to a lower level (fell from the top floor; rain was falling). b drop or be
dropped (supplies fell by parachute; the curtain fell). 2 a (often foll. by over) cease to stand; come suddenly to the ground from loss of balance etc. b collapse forwards or downwards esp. of
one's own volition (fell into my arms; fell over the chair). 3 become detached and descend or disappear. 4 take a downward direction: a (of hair, clothing, etc.) hang down. b (of ground etc.)
slope. c (foll. by into) (of a river etc.) discharge into. 5 a find a lower level; sink lower. b subside, abate. 6 (of a barometer, thermometer, etc.) show a lower reading. 7 occur; become
apparent or present (darkness fell). 8 decline, diminish (demand is falling; standards have fallen). 9 a (of the face) show dismay or disappointment. b (of the eyes or a glance) look
downwards. 10 a lose power or status (the government will fall). b lose esteem, moral integrity, etc. 11 commit sin; yield to temptation. 12 take or have a particular direction or place (his
eye fell on me; the accent falls on the first syllable). 13 a find a place; be naturally divisible (the subject falls into three parts). b (foll. by under, within) be classed among. 14 occur at
a specified time (Easter falls early this year). 15 come by chance or duty (it fell to me to answer). 16 a pass into a specified condition (fall into decay; fell ill). b become (fall
asleep). 17 a (of a position etc.) be overthrown or captured; succumb to attack. b be defeated; fail. 18 die (fall in battle). 19 (foll. by on, upon) a attack. b meet with. c embrace or
embark on avidly. 20 (foll. by to + verbal noun) begin (fell to wondering). 21 (foll. by to) lapse, revert (revenues fall to the Crown). --n. 1 the act or an instance of falling; a sudden
rapid descent. 2 that which falls or has fallen, e.g. snow, rocks, etc. 3 the recorded amount of rainfall etc. 4 a decline or diminution. 5 overthrow, downfall (the fall of Rome). 6 a
succumbing to temptation. b (the Fall) the sin of Adam and its consequences, as described in Genesis. 7 (of material, land, light, etc.) a downward direction; a slope. 8 (also Fall) US
autumn. 9 (esp. in pl.) a waterfall, cataract, or cascade. 10 Mus. a cadence. 11 a a wrestling-bout; a throw in wrestling which keeps the opponent on the ground for a specified time. b a
controlled act of falling, esp. as a stunt or in judo etc. 12 a the birth of young of certain animals. b the number of young born. 13 a rope of a hoisting-tackle. Phrases and
idioms: fall about colloq. be helpless, esp. with laughter. fall apart (or to pieces) 1 break into pieces. 2 (of a situation etc.) disintegrate; be reduced to chaos. 3 lose one's
capacity to cope. fall away 1 (of a surface) incline abruptly. 2 become few or thin; gradually vanish. 3 desert, revolt; abandon one's principles. fall back retreat. fall-back (attrib.)
emergency, esp. (of wages) the minimum paid when no work is available. fall back on have recourse to in difficulty. fall behind 1 be outstripped by one's competitors etc.; lag. 2 be in
arrears. fall down (often foll. by on) colloq. fail; perform poorly; fail to deliver (payment etc.). fall for colloq. 1 be captivated or deceived by. 2 admire; yield to the charms or merits
of. fall foul of come into conflict with; quarrel with. fall guy sl. 1 an easy victim. 2 a scapegoat. fall in 1 a take one's place in military formation. b (as int.) the order to do
this. 2 collapse inwards. falling star a meteor. fall in love see LOVE. fall into line 1 take one's place in the ranks. 2 conform or collaborate with others. fall into place begin to
make sense or cohere. fall in with 1 meet by chance. 2 agree with; accede to; humour. 3 coincide with. fall off 1 (of demand etc.) decrease, deteriorate. 2 withdraw. fall-off n.
a decrease, deterioration, withdrawal, etc. fall out 1 quarrel. 2 (of the hair, teeth, etc.) become detached. 3 Mil. come out of formation. 4 result; come to pass; occur. fall out of
gradually discontinue (a habit etc.). fall over oneself colloq. 1 be eager or competitive. 2 be awkward, stumble through haste, confusion, etc. fall-pipe a downpipe. fall short 1 be
or become deficient or inadequate. 2 (of a missile etc.) not reach its target. fall short of fail to reach or obtain. fall through fail; come to nothing; miscarry. fall to begin an activity, e.g.
eating or working. Etymology: OE fallan, feallan f. Gmc
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary 
fall
(falls, falling, fell, fallen)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1. If someone or something falls, they move quickly downwards onto or towards the ground,
by accident or because of a natural force.
Her father fell into the sea after a massive heart attack...
Bombs fell in the town...
I ought to seal the boxes up. I don't want the books falling out...
Twenty people were injured by falling masonry.
VERB: V prep, V, V out/off, V-ing
• Fall is also a noun.
The helmets are designed to withstand impacts equivalent to a fall from a bicycle.
N-COUNT: oft N from n
2. If a person or structure that is standing somewhere falls, they move from their
upright position, so that they are then lying on the ground.
The woman gripped the shoulders of her man to stop herself from falling...
We watched buildings fall on top of people and pets...
He lost his balance and fell backwards.
VERB: V, V prep/adv, V prep/adv
• Fall is also a noun.
Mrs Briscoe had a bad fall last week.
N-COUNT
• Fall down means the same as fall.
I hit him so hard he fell down...
Children jumped from upper floors as the building fell down around them.
PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P
• fallen
A number of roads have been blocked by fallen trees.
ADJ: ADJ n
3. When rain or snow falls, it comes down from the sky.
Winds reached up to 100mph in some places with an inch of rain falling within 15 minutes.
VERB: V
• Fall is also a noun.
One night there was a heavy fall of snow.
N-COUNT: N of n
see also rainfall, snowfall
4. If you fall somewhere, you allow yourself to drop there in a hurried or disorganized
way, often because you are very tired.
Totally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed...
VERB: V prep
5. If something falls, it decreases in amount, value, or strength.
Output will fall by 6%...
Her weight fell to under seven stones...
Between July and August, oil product prices fell 0.2 per cent...
The number of prosecutions has stayed static and the rate of convictions has fallen.
...a time of falling living standards and emerging mass unemployment.
= drop
≠ rise
VERB: V by n, V to/from n, V amount, V, V-ing
• Fall is also a noun.
There was a sharp fall in the value of the pound.
N-COUNT: usu sing
6. If a powerful or successful person falls, they suddenly lose their power or position.
There's a danger of the government falling because it will lose its majority...
The moment Mrs Thatcher fell from power has left a lasting imprint on the world's memory.
VERB: V, V from n
• Fall is also a noun.
Following the fall of the military dictator in March, the country has had a civilian
government...
≠ rise
N-SING: with poss
7. If a place falls in a war or election, an enemy army or a different political party
takes control of it.
Croatian army troops retreated from northern Bosnia and the area fell to the Serbs...
With the announcement 'Paphos has fallen!' a cheer went up from the assembled soldiers.
VERB: V to n, V
• Fall is also a noun.
...the fall of Rome.
N-SING: usu N of n
8. If someone falls in battle, they are killed. (LITERARY)
Another wave of troops followed the first, running past those who had fallen.
VERB: V
9. You can use fall to show that someone or something passes into another state. For
example, if someone falls ill, they become ill, and if something falls into
disrepair, it is then in a state of disrepair.
It is almost impossible to visit Florida without falling in love with the state...
I took Moira to the cinema, where she fell asleep...
Almost without exception these women fall victim to exploitation.
V-LINK: V in/into/out of n, V adj, V n
10. If you say that something or someone falls into a particular group or category,
you mean that they belong in that group or category.
The problems generally fall into two categories...
Both women fall into the highest-risk group.
VERB: V into n, V into n
11. If the responsibility or blame for something falls on someone, they have to take
the responsibility or the blame for it. (WRITTEN)
That responsibility falls on the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees...
VERB: V on n
12. If a celebration or other special event falls on a particular day or date, it
happens to be on that day or date.
...the oddly named Quasimodo Sunday which falls on the first Sunday after Easter.
VERB: V on n
13. When light or shadow falls on something, it covers it.
Nancy, out of the corner of her eye, saw the shadow that suddenly fell across the
doorway.
VERB: V across/over/on n
14. If someone's hair or a garment falls in a certain way, it hangs downwards in that way.
...a slender boy with black hair falling across his forehead.
VERB: V prep/adv
15. If you say that someone's eyes fell on something, you mean they suddenly
noticed it. (WRITTEN)
As he laid the flowers on the table, his eye fell upon a note in Grace's handwriting.
VERB: V on/upon n
16. When night or darkness falls, night begins and it becomes dark.
As darkness fell outside, they sat down to eat at long tables.
VERB: V
17. You can refer to a waterfall as the falls.
...panoramic views of the falls.
...Niagara Falls.
N-PLURAL; N-IN-NAMES
18. Fall is the season between summer and winter when the weather becomes cooler. (AM;
in BRIT, use autumn)
He was elected judge in the fall of 1991...
The Supreme Court will not hear the case until next fall.
N-VAR
19.
see also fallen
20. To fall to pieces, or in British English to fall to bits, means the same as
to fall apart.
At that point the radio handset fell to pieces.
PHRASE: V inflects
21.
to fall on your feet: see foot
to fall foul of: see foul
to fall flat: see flat
to fall from grace: see grace
to fall into place: see place
to fall short: see short
to fall into the trap: see trap
to fall by the wayside: see wayside
English Explanatory Dictionary 
fall
fɔ:l v. & n. --v.intr. (past fell; past part. fallen) 1 a go or
come down freely; descend rapidly from a higher to a lower level (fell from the
top floor; rain was falling). b drop or be dropped (supplies fell by parachute;
the curtain fell). 2 a (often foll. by over) cease to stand; come suddenly to
the ground from loss of balance etc. b collapse forwards or downwards esp. of
one's own volition (fell into my arms; fell over the chair). 3 become detached
and descend or disappear. 4 take a downward direction: a (of hair, clothing,
etc.) hang down. b (of ground etc.) slope. c (foll. by into) (of a river
etc.) discharge into. 5 a find a lower level; sink lower. b subside, abate. 6
(of a barometer, thermometer, etc.) show a lower reading. 7 occur; become
apparent or present (darkness fell). 8 decline, diminish (demand is falling;
standards have fallen). 9 a (of the face) show dismay or disappointment. b
(of the eyes or a glance) look downwards. 10 a lose power or status (the
government will fall). b lose esteem, moral integrity, etc. 11 commit sin;
yield to temptation. 12 take or have a particular direction or place (his
eye fell on me; the accent falls on the first syllable). 13 a find a place;
be naturally divisible (the subject falls into three parts). b (foll. by
under, within) be classed among. 14 occur at a specified time (Easter falls
early this year). 15 come by chance or duty (it fell to me to answer). 16
a pass into a specified condition (fall into decay; fell ill). b become
(fall asleep). 17 a (of a position etc.) be overthrown or captured; succumb
to attack. b be defeated; fail. 18 die (fall in battle). 19 (foll. by on,
upon) a attack. b meet with. c embrace or embark on avidly. 20 (foll. by to
+ verbal noun) begin (fell to wondering). 21 (foll. by to) lapse, revert
(revenues fall to the Crown). --n. 1 the act or an instance of falling; a
sudden rapid descent. 2 that which falls or has fallen, e.g. snow, rocks,
etc. 3 the recorded amount of rainfall etc. 4 a decline or diminution. 5
overthrow, downfall (the fall of Rome). 6 a succumbing to temptation. b
(the Fall) the sin of Adam and its consequences, as described in Genesis. 7
(of material, land, light, etc.) a downward direction; a slope. 8 (also
Fall) US autumn. 9 (esp. in pl.) a waterfall, cataract, or cascade. 10
Mus. a cadence. 11 a a wrestling-bout; a throw in wrestling which keeps
the opponent on the ground for a specified time. b a controlled act of
falling, esp. as a stunt or in judo etc. 12 a the birth of young of certain
animals. b the number of young born. 13 a rope of a hoisting-tackle. øfall
about colloq. be helpless, esp. with laughter. fall apart (or to pieces)
1 break into pieces. 2 (of a situation etc.) disintegrate; be reduced to
chaos. 3 lose one's capacity to cope. fall away 1 (of a surface) incline
abruptly. 2 become few or thin; gradually vanish. 3 desert, revolt; abandon
one's principles. fall back retreat. fall-back (attrib.) emergency, esp. (of
wages) the minimum paid when no work is available. fall back on have recourse
to in difficulty. fall behind 1 be outstripped by one's competitors etc.;
lag. 2 be in arrears. fall down (often foll. by on) colloq. fail; perform
poorly; fail to deliver (payment etc.). fall for colloq. 1 be captivated
or deceived by. 2 admire; yield to the charms or merits of. fall foul of
come into conflict with; quarrel with. fall guy sl. 1 an easy victim. 2 a
scapegoat. fall in 1 a take one's place in military formation. b (as int.) the
order to do this. 2 collapse inwards. falling star a meteor. fall in love see
LOVE. fall into line 1 take one's place in the ranks. 2 conform or collaborate
with others. fall into place begin to make sense or cohere. fall in with 1
meet by chance. 2 agree with; accede to; humour. 3 coincide with. fall off 1
(of demand etc.) decrease, deteriorate. 2 withdraw. fall-off n. a decrease,
deterioration, withdrawal, etc. fall out 1 quarrel. 2 (of the hair, teeth,
etc.) become detached. 3 Mil. come out of formation. 4 result; come to pass;
occur. fall out of gradually discontinue (a habit etc.). fall over oneself
colloq. 1 be eager or competitive. 2 be awkward, stumble through haste,
confusion, etc. fall-pipe a downpipe. fall short 1 be or become deficient or
inadequate. 2 (of a missile etc.) not reach its target. fall short of fail
to reach or obtain. fall through fail; come to nothing; miscarry. fall to
begin an activity, e.g. eating or working. [OE fallan, feallan f. Gmc]
Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations 
Fall
He that is down, needs fear no fall.
BUNYAN: _The Author's Way of Sending forth his
Second Part of the Pilgrim,_ Pt. ii.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 
Fall \Fall\ (f[add]l), v. i. [imp. Fell; p. p. Fallen; p.
pr. & vb. n. Falling.] [AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS.
& OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde,
Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa`llein to cause to
fall, Skr. sphal, sphul, to tremble. Cf. Fail, Fell, v.
t., to cause to fall.]
1. 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 mercury falls in the
barometer.
I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. --Luke
x. 18.
2. 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 worshiper falls on his knees.
I fell at his feet to worship him. --Rev. xix.
10.
3. To find a final outlet; to discharge its waters; to empty;
-- with into; as, the river Rhone falls into the
Mediterranean.
4. To become prostrate and dead; to die; especially, to die
by violence, as in battle.
A thousand shall fall at thy side. --Ps. xci. 7.
He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting,
fell. --Byron.
5. To cease to be active or strong; to die away; to lose
strength; to subside; to become less intense; as, the wind
falls.
6. To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; -- said of
the young of certain animals. --Shak.
7. 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; stocks fell two points.
I am a poor falle man, unworthy now To be thy lord
and master. --Shak.
The greatness of these Irish lords suddenly fell and
vanished. --Sir J.
Davies.
8. To be overthrown or captured; to be destroyed.
Heaven and earth will witness, If Rome must fall,
that we are innocent. --Addison.
9. 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.
Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest
any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
--Heb. iv. 11.
10. To become insnared or embarrassed; to be entrapped; to be
worse off than before; asm to fall into error; to fall
into difficulties.
11. To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or
appear dejected; -- said of the countenance.
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
--Gen. iv. 5.
I have observed of late thy looks are fallen.
--Addison.
12. To sink; to languish; to become feeble or faint; as, our
spirits rise and fall with our fortunes.
13. 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.
14. To happen; to to come to pass; to light; to befall; to
issue; to terminate.
The Romans fell on this model by chance. --Swift.
Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the
matter will fall. --Ruth. iii.
18.
They do not make laws, they fall into customs. --H.
Spencer.
15. To come; to occur; to arrive.
The vernal equinox, which at the Nicene Council
fell on the 21st of March, falls now [1694] about
ten days sooner. --Holder.
16. To begin with haste, ardor, or vehemence; to rush or
hurry; as, they fell to blows.
They now no longer doubted, but fell to work heart
and soul. --Jowett
(Thucyd. ).
17. To pass or be transferred by chance, lot, distribution,
inheritance, or otherwise; as, the estate fell to his
brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals.
18. To belong or appertain.
If to her share some female errors fall, Look on
her face, and you'll forget them all. --Pope.
19. To be dropped or uttered carelessly; as, an unguarded
expression fell from his lips; not a murmur fell from
him.
To fall abroad of (Naut.), to strike against; -- applied to
one vessel coming into collision with another.
To fall among, to come among accidentally or unexpectedly.
To fall astern (Naut.), to move or be driven backward; to
be left behind; as, a ship falls astern by the force of a
current, or when outsailed by another.
To fall away.
(a) To lose flesh; to become lean or emaciated; to pine.
(b) To renounce or desert allegiance; to revolt or rebel.
(c) To renounce or desert the faith; to apostatize.
``These . . . for a while believe, and in time of
temptation fall away.'' --Luke viii. 13.
(d) To perish; to vanish; to be lost. ``How . . . can the
soul . . . fall away into nothing?'' --Addison.
(e) To decline gradually; to fade; to languish, or become
faint. ``One color falls away by just degrees, and
another rises insensibly.'' --Addison.
To fall back.
(a) To recede or retreat; to give way.
(b) To fail of performing a promise or purpose; not to
fulfill.
To fall back upon.
(a) (Mil.) To retreat for safety to (a stronger position
in the rear, as to a fort or a supporting body of
troops).
(b) To have recourse to (a reserved fund, or some
available expedient or support).
To fall calm, to cease to blow; to become calm.
To fall down.
(a) To prostrate one's self in worship. ``All kings shall
fall down before him.'' --Ps. lxxii. 11.
(b) To sink; to come to the ground. ``Down fell the
beauteous youth.'' --Dryden.
(c) To bend or bow, as a suppliant.
(d) (Naut.) To sail or drift toward the mouth of a river
or other outlet.
To fall flat, to produce no response or result; to fail of
the intended effect; as, his speech fell flat.
To fall foul of.
(a) (Naut.) To have a collision with; to become entangled
with
(b) To attack; to make an assault upon.
To fall from, to recede or depart from; not to adhere to;
as, to fall from an agreement or engagement; to fall from
allegiance or duty.
To fall from grace (M. E. Ch.), to sin; to withdraw from
the faith.
To fall home (Ship Carp.), to curve inward; -- said of the
timbers or upper parts of a ship's side which are much
within a perpendicular.
To fall in.
(a) To sink inwards; as, the roof fell in.
(b) (Mil.) To take one's proper or assigned place in
line; as, to fall in on the right.
(c) To come to an end; to terminate; to lapse; as, on the
death of Mr. B., the annuuity, which he had so long
received, fell in.
(d) To become operative. ``The reversion, to which he had
been nominated twenty years before, fell in.''
--Macaulay.
To fall into one's hands, to pass, often suddenly or
unexpectedly, into one's ownership or control; as, to
spike cannon when they are likely to fall into the hands
of the enemy.
To fall in with.
(a) To meet with accidentally; as, to fall in with a
friend.
(b) (Naut.) To meet, as a ship; also, to discover or come
near, as land.
(c) To concur with; to agree with; as, the measure falls
in with popular opinion.
(d) To comply; to yield to. ``You will find it difficult
to persuade learned men to fall in with your
projects.'' --Addison.
To fall off.
(a) To drop; as, fruits fall off when ripe.
(b) To withdraw; to separate; to become detached; as,
friends fall off in adversity. ``Love cools,
friendship falls off, brothers divide.'' --Shak.
(c) To perish; to die away; as, words fall off by disuse.
(d) To apostatize; to forsake; to withdraw from the
faith, or from allegiance or duty.
Those captive tribes . . . fell off From God to
worship calves. --Milton.
(e) To forsake; to abandon; as, his customers fell off.
(f) To depreciate; to change for the worse; to
deteriorate; to become less valuable, abundant, or
interesting; as, a falling off in the wheat crop; the
magazine or the review falls off. ``O Hamlet, what a
falling off was there!'' --Shak.
(g) (Naut.) To deviate or trend to the leeward of the
point to which the head of the ship was before
directed; to fall to leeward.
To fall on.
(a) To meet with; to light upon; as, we have fallen on
evil days.
(b) To begin suddenly and eagerly. ``Fall on, and try the
appetite to eat.'' --Dryden.
(c) To begin an attack; to assault; to assail. ``Fall on,
fall on, and hear him not.'' --Dryden.
(d) To drop on; to descend on.
To fall out.
(a) To quarrel; to begin to contend.
A soul exasperated in ills falls out With
everything, its friend, itself. --Addison.
(b) To happen; to befall; to chance. ``There fell out a
bloody quarrel betwixt the frogs and the mice.''
--L'Estrange.
(c) (Mil.) To leave the ranks, as a soldier.
To fall over.
(a) To revolt; to desert from one side to another.
(b) To fall beyond. --Shak.
To fall short, to be deficient; as, the corn falls short;
they all fall short in duty.
To fall through, to come to nothing; to fail; as, the
engageent has fallen through.
To fall to, to begin. ``Fall to, with eager joy, on homely
food.'' --Dryden.
To fall under.
(a) To come under, or within the limits of; to be
subjected to; as, they fell under the jurisdiction of
the emperor.
(b) To come under; to become the subject of; as, this
point did not fall under the cognizance or
deliberations of the court; these things do not fall
under human sight or observation.
(c) To come within; to be ranged or reckoned with; to be
subordinate to in the way of classification; as,
these substances fall under a different class or
order.
To fall upon.
(a) To attack. [See To fall on.]
(b) To attempt; to have recourse to. ``I do not intend to
fall upon nice disquisitions.'' --Holder.
(c) To rush against.
Note: Fall primarily denotes descending motion, either in a
perpendicular or inclined direction, and, in most of
its applications, implies, literally or figuratively,
velocity, haste, suddenness, or violence. Its use is so
various, and so mush diversified by modifying words,
that it is not easy to enumerate its senses in all its
applications.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 
Fall \Fall\, n.
1. The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force
of gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the
yard of ship.
2. The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as,
he was walking on ice, and had a fall.
3. Death; destruction; overthrow; ruin.
They thy fall conspire. --Denham.
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit
before a fall. --Prov. xvi.
18.
4. Downfall; degradation; loss of greatness or office;
termination of greatness, power, or dominion; ruin;
overthrow; as, the fall of the Roman empire.
Beholds thee glorious only in thy fall. --Pope.
5. The surrender of a besieged fortress or town; as, the fall
of Sebastopol.
6. Diminution or decrease in price or value; depreciation;
as, the fall of prices; the fall of rents.
7. A sinking of tone; cadence; as, the fall of the voice at
the close of a sentence.
8. Declivity; the descent of land or a hill; a slope.
9. Descent of water; a cascade; a cataract; a rush of water
down a precipice or steep; -- usually in the plural,
sometimes in the singular; as, the falls of Niagara.
10. The discharge of a river or current of water into the
ocean, or into a lake or pond; as, the fall of the Po
into the Gulf of Venice. --Addison.
11. Extent of descent; the distance which anything falls; as,
the water of a stream has a fall of five feet.
12. The season when leaves fall from trees; autumn.
What crowds of patients the town doctor kills, Or
how, last fall, he raised the weekly bills.
--Dryden.
13. That which falls; a falling; as, a fall of rain; a heavy
fall of snow.
14. The act of felling or cutting down. ``The fall of
timber.'' --Johnson.
15. Lapse or declension from innocence or goodness.
Specifically: The first apostasy; the act of our first
parents in eating the forbidden fruit; also, the apostasy
of the rebellious angels.
16. Formerly, a kind of ruff or band for the neck; a falling
band; a faule. --B. Jonson.
17. That part (as one of the ropes) of a tackle to which the
power is applied in hoisting.
Fall herring (Zo["o]l.), a herring of the Atlantic ({Clupea
mediocris}); -- also called tailor herring, and hickory
shad}.
To try a fall, to try a bout at wrestling. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 
Fall \Fall\, v. t.
1. To let fall; to drop. [Obs.]
For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds. --Shak.
2. To sink; to depress; as, to fall the voice. [Obs.]
3. To diminish; to lessen or lower. [Obs.]
Upon lessening interest to four per cent, you fall
the price of your native commodities. --Locke.
4. To bring forth; as, to fall lambs. [R.] --Shak.
5. To fell; to cut down; as, to fall a tree. [Prov. Eng. &
Local, U.S.]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 
FALL
fol (vb.): The idea of falling is most frequently expressed in Hebrew by
naphal, but also by many other words; in Greek by pipto, and its compounds. The
uses of the word in Scripture are very varied. There is the literal falling by
descent; the falling of the countenance in sorrow, shame, anger, etc. (Ge
4:5,6); the falling in battle (Ge 14:10; Nu 14:3, etc.); the
falling into trouble, etc. (Pr 24:16,17); prostration in supplication
and reverence (Ge 17:3; Nu 14:5, etc.); falling of the Spirit of Yahweh
(Eze 11:5; compare 3:24; 8:1); of apostasy (2Th 2:3; Heb 6:6; Jude
1:24), etc. the Revised Version (British and American) frequently changes
"fall" of the King James Version into other words or phrases, as "stumble"
(Le 26:37; Ps 64:8; 2Pe 1:10, etc.), "fade" (Isa 33:4), etc.;
in Ac 27, the Revised Version (British and American) reads "be cast
ashore on rocky ground" for "have fallen upon rocks" (Ac 27:29),
"perish" for "fall" (Ac 27:34), "lighting upon" for "falling into"
(Ac 27:41).
W. L. Walker
Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms 
fall
I. v. n.
1. Drop, descend, sink, drop down.
2. Be prostrated, fall down.
3. Sink, be lowered, be depressed.
4. Decrease, decline, be diminished, become less, die away.
5. Sin, err, transgress, lapse, trip, trespass, commit a fault, do amiss, go astray.
6. Die, perish, come to destruction.
7. Empty, disembogue, flow, be discharged.
8. Happen, befall, come.
9. Become (sick, asleep, in love, etc.), get.
10. Pass, come, be transferred.
11. Be dropped, be uttered carelessly, drop.
II. n.
1. Descent, dropping.
2. Tumble, falling.
3. Cataract, cascade, waterfall.
4. Extent of descent, amount of fall.
5. Destruction, death, ruin, overthrow, downfall.
6. Degradation, loss of eminence.
7. Apostasy, loss of innocence, lapse, declension, slip, going astray, failure.
8. Diminution, decrease, decline.
9. Sinking (of the voice), cadence, close.
10. Discharge (of a river), emptying, disemboguement.
11. Autumn, fall of the leaf.
12. Declivity, slope, inclination.
English Explanatory Dictionary (Synonyms) 
fall
fɔ:l v.
1 descend, sink, subside, settle, drop or come (down), plummet, plunge, dive, (take a)
nosedive; cascade: The bucket fell to the bottom of the well. A meteorite fell on my house. The
water falls 100 metres over the cliff at this point.
2 tumble, trip, stumble, slump, collapse, keel over, topple, crumple: Mother fell in
the kitchen and hurt her knee.
3 diminish, (become) lower, sink, decline, fall or drop off, drop, decrease, dwindle,
subside, come or go down: The price of oil fell today to a new low.
4 slope, fall away, decline: Beyond the spinney, the meadow falls towards the river.
5 succumb, surrender, yield, give up or in, capitulate, be defeated or conquered, be
captured, be taken (captive or prisoner), be overthrown, come or go to ruin, be destroyed,
be lost: The castle fell after a year's siege.
6 die, perish, drop dead, be slain or killed: His grandfather fell at the Battle of
the Marne.
7 fall apart. disintegrate, crumble, collapse, fall or come or go to pieces, break up, be
destroyed; break apart, fragment, shatter: I knew she would fall apart on the witness stand. The
gadget fell apart as soon as we used it.
8 fall back. retreat, retire, withdraw, draw back; recede: As the enemy advanced, we
fell back.
9 fall back on or upon. have recourse to, rely or depend on or upon, return to, count
on or upon, resort to, call on or upon, make use of, use, employ: All the ready ammunition was
gone and we had to fall back on our reserves.
10 fall behind. drop back, trail, lag; be in arrears: If you fall behind, I'll wait for
you. We fell behind in our mortgage payments.
11 fall down. a collapse, drop: She hit me so hard that I fell down. b fail, be (found)
wanting or lacking, be unsuccessful, be or prove inadequate or disappointing: He had to be
replaced because he fell down on the job.
12 fall flat. collapse, fail, Colloq flop, US bomb (out), lay an egg, go over like a
lead balloon: A hit in London might fall flat in New York.
13 fall for. a fall in love with, be infatuated with: Some people will fall for anyone
who tells them the right time. b be fooled or duped or taken in or deceived by, accept, swallow,
succumb to, Slang be a sucker for, US and Canadian be a patsy for: Did Beaseley really fall
for that old confidence trick?
14 fall in. cave in, collapse, sink inwards: The walls were about to fall in on us.
15 fall in with. join, associate with, become associated or allied with, befriend;
cooperate with, go along with, concur with, support, accept: He fell in with a gang of thieves
and spent the next few years avoiding the police. She agreed to fall in with my plan.
16 fall off. diminish, decrease, decline, deteriorate: Business falls off immediately
after Christmas.
17 fall on or upon. attack, assault, assail, set upon: Three muggers fell on me and
stole my wallet.
18 fall out. disagree, differ, quarrel, clash, squabble, wrangle, dispute, fight: We
fell out over politics.
19 fall short. prove or (turn out to) be inadequate or insufficient or deficient or
lacking or wanting or disappointing, miss, fail, disappoint: The results of the sales campaign
fell short of expectations.
20 fall through. fail, come to nothing or naught, miscarry, die, Colloq fizzle (out),
flop: The deal to buy the company fell through.
21 fall to. start, begin, commence, set or go about, get under way, undertake, tackle,
take on; get moving, attack, Colloq get the show on the road, get cracking, US get a wiggle on,
move it: The washing-up had to be done so I fell to. --n.
22 drop, descent, dive, nosedive, plunge, tumble, dropping, falling: How could he have
survived a fall from such a height?
23 Chiefly US and Canadian autumn: They turn the clocks back one hour in the fall.
24 decline, decay, collapse, downfall, failure, destruction, ruin, failure, deterioration,
eclipse: Have you read Poe's classic Fall of the House of Usher ?
25 Usually, falls. cascade, cataract, waterfall; rapids: How many falls are there along
the Limpopo River?
26 depreciation, sinking, diminution, decrease, decline, lapse, downturn, down-swing,
drop, drop-off, lowering, abatement, slump, collapse: On the Stock Exchange today, investors
experienced sharp falls in share prices.
27 slope, declivity, descent, decline, drop, downhill, Chiefly US and Canadian downgrade:
Note the smooth rise and fall of the land.
28 surrender, capitulation, submission, taking, seizure, capture, overthrow, defeat,
conquest, downfall: The fall of Khartoum in 1898 marked the re-establishment of British rule
in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 
532 Moby Thesaurus words for "fall":
Niagara, Scotch mist, Waterloo, abate, abatement, ablate, accept,
apostasy, ascend, assail, assault, associate with, attack, autumn,
backslide, backsliding, bag, bank, bate, be destroyed,
be eaten away, be found, be found wanting, be killed, be lost,
be met with, be realized, be unsuccessful, beat down, beating,
befall, befriend, begin, belly buster, belly flop, belly whopper,
beset, betide, bite the dust, blood rain, bouleversement, bow,
break, break up, breakdown, call on, call upon, cannonball, cant,
capitulate, capitulation, capsize, capture, careen, cascade,
catabasis, cataract, cave in, cease to be, cease to live, cheapen,
chignon, chute, clash, climb, collapse, come, come a cropper,
come about, come down, come off, come to naught, come to nothing,
come to pass, come true, comedown, commence, conquering, conquest,
consume, consume away, convulsion, corrode, count on, crash,
crash dive, cropper, crumble, crumble to dust, crumple, culbute,
cut, cut prices, daggle, dangle, deathblow, debacle, debasement,
decadence, decadency, decay, decease, deceleration, declension,
declination, decline, decline and fall, declivity, decrease,
decrescendo, defeat, deflate, deflation, defluxion, deformation,
degeneracy, degenerate, degenerateness, degeneration, degradation,
deliquesce, demotion, depart, depart this life, depend,
depravation, depravedness, depreciate, depreciation, derogation,
descend, descending, descension, descent, destruction, deteriorate,
deterioration, devaluate, devolution, die, die away, die down,
differ, diminish, diminuendo, diminution, dip, dip down, disagree,
disappoint, disintegrate, dispute, dive, down, downbend, downcome,
downcurve, downfall, downflow, downgate, downgrade, downhill,
downpour, downrush, downtrend, downturn, downward mobility,
downward trend, drabble, drag, draggle, drape, draw back, drizzle,
droop, drop, drop dead, drop down, drop off, dropping, drubbing,
drum, dwindle, dwindling, dying, ebb, eclipse, effeteness, employ,
erode, err, evening mist, eventuate, expire, fade, fading, fail,
failing, failure, failure of nerve, fall again into, fall asleep,
fall away, fall back, fall behind, fall dead, fall down, fall flat,
fall for, fall from grace, fall headlong, fall in, fall in price,
fall in with, fall of Adam, fall of man, fall off, fall out,
fall over, fall prostrate, fall short, fall stillborn,
fall through, fall to, fall to pieces, falling, falling-off, falls,
false hair, fight, fizzle out, flap, flop, flounder, flow, flurry,
force, forced landing, fragment, gainer, get a cropper,
get cracking, get moving, get under way, give in, give up,
give way, go, go about, go along with, go astray, go down,
go downhill, go off, go out, go to pieces, go to ruin, go to smash,
go under, go uphill, go wrong, gout of rain, grade, gravitate,
gravitation, hang, hang down, hanging, hap, happen, harvest,
harvest home, harvest time, have a relapse, have enough,
have recourse to, header, hiding, hit a slump, hit rock bottom,
hit the skids, inclination, incline, involution, jackknife,
jew down, join, keel, keel over, lag, lambasting, languish, lapse,
lapse back, lathering, lay an egg, lean, lessen, let up,
lick the dust, licking, linn, list, lop, lose, lose altitude,
lose out, lose the day, loss of tone, lower, lowering, lurch,
make use of, mark down, mastery, melt away, miscarry, miss, mist,
misty rain, mizzle, moderate, moisture, nappe, nod, nose dive,
nose-dive, nosedive, occur, overcoming, overthrow, overturn,
parachute, parachute jump, pare, part, pass, pass away, pass off,
pass on, pass over, patter, pelt, pend, perish, pitch,
pitter-patter, plop, plummet, plummeting, plump, plunge, plunk,
pounce, pounce on, pounce upon, pour, pour down, pour with rain,
power dive, pratfall, precipitate, precipitation, prostration,
put off mortality, quarrel, quietus, quit this world, rain,
rain tadpoles, raindrop, rainfall, rainwater, rake, rapids, rat,
reach the depths, recede, recidivate, recidivation, recidivism,
recur to, reduce, regress, regression, relapse, relent, remission,
resort to, retire, retreat, retrocession, retrogradation,
retrogression, return to, return to dust, revert, revert to, rise,
ruin, run down, run low, running dive, sabotage, sag, sault,
say uncle, seizure, set about, set upon, settle, shatter, shave,
sheet of rain, shelve, shower, shower down, shrink, sidle,
sin of Adam, sink, sink back, sinking, skid, skin-dive, sky dive,
sky-dive, slacken, slant, slash, slide, slide back, slip,
slip back, slippage, slope, slowdown, slump, smash, sound, spatter,
spill, spit, splatter, spout, sprawl, spread-eagle, sprinkle,
squabble, stagger, start, stationary dive, stoop, stop breathing,
storm, stream, strike, stumble, subdual, subduing, subjugation,
submission, submit, subside, subsidence, subversion, succumb,
succumb to, support, surrender, swag, swallow, swan dive, sway,
swing, switch, swoop, swoop down, tackle, tail off, tailspin,
take a fall, take a flop, take a header, take a pratfall,
take a spill, take on, take place, take the count, taking, tattoo,
thrashing, tilt, tip, topple, topple down, topple over, totter,
touch bottom, trail, transpire, trend downward, trim, trimming,
trip, trouncing, tumble, turn turtle, undertake, undoing,
unfrozen hydrometeor, up and die, upheaval, uprise, upset, use,
vanquishment, wane, waste, waste away, waterfall, watershoot, wear,
wear away, weep, wet, whipping, withdraw, wrangle, yield,
yield again to, yield the ghost
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