See Also: Near Fall Criteria/Near Fall Points - Wrestling(gambling)
Fall out of bed(money)
Fall out of bed(finance)
Fall Down(money)
Fall(medicine)
fall-off(dictionary)
fall(1)(dictionary)
fall(2)(dictionary)
fall-away(dictionary)
Fall down(finance)

fall (iou)



fall verb. .
[Old English feallan, fallan = Old Frisian, Old Norse falla, Old Saxon, Old High German fallan (Dutch vallen, German fallen) from Germanic. Cf. FELL verb1.]
I. verb intrans. Descend from a height or to a lower level.
Drop or come down from a height or relative height, esp. by the force of gravity. OE.
free-fall: see FREE adjective.
M. Keane I unhooked my gold dress and let it fall..round my feet. S. Brett The curtain fell for the interval.
b. Of rain, hail, darkness, etc.: descend, come down (as) from the upper atmosphere. OE.
V. Woolf Darkness fell as sharply as a knife in this climate.
c. fig. Of calamity, fear, sleep, etc.: come down on, upon. ME.
d. Of the young of animals: be dropped or born. LME.
Become detached and drop off. ME.
E. Bowen The..last leaves still clung to the trees, as though they would not fall.
Descend, sink; esp. (of water, flames, a storm, etc.) subside, ebb, abate. ME.
P. S. Buck A still grey day when the wind fell and the air was quiet and warm.
b. Decline physically or morally. ME.
c. Of the sun etc.: go down, set. LME-L19.
Of a river etc.: discharge itself, flow into. ME.
Of the face or facial expression: lose animation, assume a look of dismay or disappointment. LME.
b. Of the eyes or glance: be cast down. L19.
Of sound, esp. the voice, a musical note, etc.: become lower or quieter. LME.
J. C. Powys The names..kept rising and falling like a musical refrain.
Reduce in size; become thinner or leaner; (of swelling) go down. M16-E19.
Decrease, become reduced; go down in price or value. L16.
H. Wilson Our majority..had fallen to two when we lost Leyton. Financial Times Short sterling..fell slightly to 87.79.
Of land: slope. L16.
A. Paton The ground falls away from one's feet to the valley below.
Of feathers, leaves, etc.: droop, hang down. L16.
Of speech etc.: issue or proceed from. E17.
(Of liquid in a measuring instrument) sink to a lower point; (of a measuring instrument) register a lowering of pressure or temperature. M17.
A. Caldcleugh The thermometer in the winter seldom falls to freezing.
b. Of temperature: become lower. L19.
II. verb intrans. Lose an upright position.
Prostrate oneself in reverence or supplication. OE.
R. P. Jhabvala Realising who it was, they fell at the Nawab's feet.
Stumble or be drawn into (a trap, danger, error, etc.). OE.
Be brought or come suddenly to the ground. ME.
Dogworld A dozen exhibitors slipped and fell in the mud.
b. Cricket. Of a wicket: be knocked down by the ball to dismiss a batsman (also registering the dismissal of a batsman by any means). Of a batsman: be out to a catch, bowler, etc. L18.
Yield to temptation, sin; lose honour or moral standing. ME.
D. Lessing It was because Adam ate the apple that he was lost, or fell.
b. Be arrested; be sent to prison. Criminals' slang. L19.
fig. Of a fortification, empire, government, etc.: succumb to attack or opposition, be destroyed or overthrown. ME.
L. Namier Lord North's government has fallen.
b. Cards. Be captured by a higher card. (Foll. by to.) E18.
Drop down wounded or dead; die by violence. ME.
J. R. Green The greater part of the higher nobility had fallen in battle.
Of a building etc.: come down in fragments, tumble in ruins. ME.
III. verb intrans. Happen, occur, become.
(Of a lot, choice, etc.) chance on, light on; be allotted or apportioned to; come as a burden or duty to, devolve (up)on. ME.
C. Thirlwall The suspicion of disaffection..fell on a man of eminent talents. M. Meyer It fell to her to see to his personal needs.
Appertain, belong. Foll. by to, for. ME-M16.
Come into a specified state or position (by chance, naturally, in the course of events, or unawares); pass into (in, to) a specified state or position. ME.
fall behind etc.
Bible (AV): Luke 10:30 A certaine man went downe from Hierusalem to Iericho, and fel among theeues. T. Hardy He fell into a heavy slumber and did not wake till dawn. A. Haley Quiet fell when Tom made it clear he wished to speak. D. Barnes Before it fell into Nora's hands, the property had been in the..family.
b. Come as a consequence or result. ME-L17.
c. Change for the worse (in)to. LME-L16.
d. Of light, the sight, a movement, etc.: have or take a specified direction, have a specified position, settle on. L16.
G. Macdonald The sound of a closing door..fell on my ear. E. M. Forster To the left fell the shadow of the embankment. J. Rathbone I..moved the candle, and its light fell on the red hair of Ruben.
e. Be (naturally) divisible into. M17.
A. Eden The pictures at Windlestone fell naturally into three categories.
Occur, come to pass, happen; come at a specified time, have as date. ME.
W. Holder The Vernal Equinox, which..fell upon the 21st of March. Longfellow I am rather sorry that the Exhibition falls so late in the year.
With compl.: become. (Foll. by adjective, noun (now only heir), (now dial.) prepositional phr., (arch.) to be.) LME.
J. A. Froude All the offices fell vacant together. G. Greene He fell silent..as though aware of an indiscretion.
a. Of an office, living, etc.: become vacant. M16-L18.
b. Of a benefice or its revenues: lapse. L16.
IV. verb trans.
a. Overthrow, bring down. ME-E17.
b. Fell (trees). Now dial. exc. US, Austral., & NZ. LME.
Have as one's share; get, obtain. obsolete exc. dial. LME.
Let fall, drop. Now only in Campanology. L15.
b. Give birth to (a lamb etc.). L16-M17.
Lower. E17-L18.
Phrases: bottom falls out of: see BOTTOM noun. fair fall arch. may good befall . fall by the wayside: see WAYSIDE noun. fall flat: see FLAT adjective. fall foul of: see FOUL adverb. fall from grace: see GRACE noun. fall in love: see LOVE noun. fall into line take one's place in a rank; collaborate with others, do as others. fall into place: see PLACE noun1. fall into the habit of: see HABIT noun. fall in two collapse, disintegrate. fall on hard times, fall on evil times suffer misfortune. fall on one's face (a) prostrate oneself in reverence; (b) fail ridiculously. fall on one's feet get out of difficulty or be successful, esp. unexpectedly or by good luck. fall on one's sword kill oneself with a sword. fall over oneself colloq. (a) be very clumsy; (b) be very hasty or eager (to do). fall short (a) be or become insufficient or inadequate; (b) (of a shot, missile, etc.) not go far enough; (foll. by of) fail to obtain or reach. fall to one's share: see SHARE noun2. fall to pieces: see PIECE noun. fall to the ground fig. (of a plan etc.) come to nothing, be abandoned, fail. fall to the lot of: see LOT noun. foul fall arch. may evil befall .
With adverbs in specialized senses: fall aboard (a) fall foul of (a ship, a person); (b) quarrel with. fall about colloq. be helpless, esp. with mirth; laugh uncontrollably. fall apart collapse, disintegrate. fall astern (of a ship) drop behind. fall away (a) withdraw one's support, desert, revolt, apostatize, (from); (b) become few or thin; decay, perish, vanish. fall back (a) give way, retreat; (b) fall back on, fall back upon, have recourse to, rely on when in difficulty. fall behind be outstripped, stop keeping up. fall down (a) (of a ship) travel down towards the sea; (b) sicken; (c) fall down (on) come to grief (over), fail (in). fall in (a) (of a building) collapse inwards; (b) make one's way in, (of a ship) take a course for land; (c) (now rare) happen, occur; (d) Military (cause to) get into line; (e) agree; concur in an arrangement; (f) make up a quarrel; (g) come to an end, terminate; (of a debt etc.) become due; (of land etc.) become available; (of a lease) run out; (h) fall in for, come in for, get, incur; (i) fall in upon, come upon or drop in upon by chance; (j) fall in with, come upon by chance, happen to meet; agree with; accede to, go along with (views, plans); humour (an opinion etc.); harmonize with, coincide with. fall off (a) step aside, withdraw; (b) Nautical (of a ship) fail to keep its head to the wind; deviate to leeward; (c) part company, become estranged; (d) decrease in size or number; deteriorate, decline. fall on (a) attack, join battle; (b) (now rare) begin, set to work. fall out (a) disagree, quarrel (with); (b) come to pass, occur; prove to be, turn out, esp. turn out well; (c) fall out of (Military), leave or be dismissed from (the ranks). fall over (a) go over to (an enemy); (b) Scot. fall asleep; (c) not stay upright, topple over; (fall over backwards: see BACKWARD adverb 1). fall through break down, fail, miscarry. fall to (a) close automatically; (b) set to, begin working, eating, fighting, etc. fall together (a) close, collapse; (b) Phonetics (of sounds) become identical.
With prepositions in specialized senses: fall a arch. begin doing, an action. fall aboard fall foul of (a ship). fall behind be outstripped by, stop keeping up with. fall down arch. descend or travel down (a river etc.). fall for (colloq., orig. US) be captivated or deceived by; yield to the attractions of; (see also sense 21 above). fall from arch. forsake allegiance to; abandon; (see also Phrases above). fall into (a) come into or within; make a hostile approach to, make an inroad into; (b) engage in, begin, (esp. conversation, with); (c) comply with, accommodate oneself to; adopt (a habit etc.); (see also senses 4, 14, 22, & Phrases above). fall on (a) begin (an action or state, doing), set about; (b) attack, assault; (c) come across, light on; (d) have recourse to, make use of; (see also senses 1c, 20, 22d, & Phrases above). fall to (a) be drawn to, become a follower of; (b) agree with, accede to; (c) arch. apply oneself to, begin, (an action, doing); (d) be killed or defeated by; (see also senses 15b, 17b, 20, 21, 22 above). fall under (a) be classed among; (b) be subjected to. fall upon = fall on above; (see also senses 1c, 20 above). fall within be included in, come within the scope of.