transcription, транскрипция: [ fɔ:l ]
( 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
• fall‧en
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