n. 25B6; verb
bombs began to fall : DROP, descend, come down, go down; plummet, plunge, sink, dive, tumble; cascade.
he tripped and fell : TOPPLE OVER, tumble over, keel over, fall down/over, go head over heels, go headlong, collapse, take a spill, pitch forward; trip (over), stumble, slip; informal come a cropper; Brit. informal go for six.
the river began to fall : SUBSIDE, recede, ebb, flow back, fall away, go down, sink.
inflation will fall : DECREASE, decline, diminish, fall off, drop off, lessen, dwindle; plummet, plunge, slump, sink; depreciate, cheapen, devalue; informal go through the floor, nosedive, take a header, crash.
the Mogul empire fell : DECLINE, deteriorate, degenerate, go downhill, go to rack and ruin; decay, wither, fade, fail; informal go to the dogs, go to pot, go down the toilet; Austral./NZ informal go to the pack.
those who fell in the war : DIE, perish, lose one's life, be killed, be slain, be lost, meet one's death; informal bite the dust, croak, buy it; Brit. informal snuff it; archaic decease.
the town fell to the barbarians : SURRENDER, yield, submit, give in, capitulate, succumb; be taken by, be defeated by, be conquered by, be overwhelmed by.
Easter falls on 23rd April : OCCUR, take place, happen, come about; arise; poetic/literary come to pass.
night fell : COME, arrive, appear, arise, materialize.
she fell ill : BECOME, grow, get, turn.
more tasks may fall to him : BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF, be the duty of, be borne by, be one's job; come someone's way.
rise, flood, increase, flourish.
25B6; noun
an accidental fall : TUMBLE, trip, spill, topple, slip; collapse; informal nosedive, header, cropper.
a fall in sales : DECLINE, fall-off, drop, decrease, cut, dip, reduction, downswing; plummet, plunge, slump; informal nosedive, crash.
the fall of the Roman Empire : DOWNFALL, collapse, ruin, ruination, failure, decline, deterioration, degeneration; destruction, overthrow, demise.
the fall of the city : SURRENDER, capitulation, yielding, submission; defeat.
a steep fall down to the ocean : DESCENT, declivity, slope, slant, incline; N. Amer. downgrade.
the fall of man : SIN, wrongdoing, transgression, error, offence, lapse, fall from grace.
rafting trips below the falls : WATERFALL, cascade, cataract; rapids, white water. See list at waterfall .
increase, rise, ascent.
25A0; fall apart FALL/COME TO PIECES, fall/come to bits, come apart (at the seams); disintegrate, fragment, break up, break apart, crumble, decay, perish; informal bust.
25A0; fall asleep DOZE OFF, drop off, go to sleep; informal nod off, go off, drift off, crash (out), flake out, conk out, go out like a light; N. Amer. informal sack out.
25A0; fall away SLOPE (DOWN), slant down, go down, drop (away), descend, dip, sink, plunge.
25A0; fall back RETREAT, withdraw, back off, draw back, pull back, pull away, move away.
25A0; fall back on RESORT TO, turn to, look to, call on, have recourse to; rely on, depend on, lean on.
25A0; fall behind
the other walkers fell behind : LAG (BEHIND), trail (behind), be left behind, drop back, bring up the rear; straggle, dally, dawdle, hang back.
they fell behind on their payments : GET INTO DEBT, get into arrears, default, be in the red.
25A0; fall down
I spin round till I fall down. : See fall verb sense 2.
his work fell down in some areas : FAIL, be unsuccessful, not succeed, not make the grade, fall short, fall flat, disappoint; miss the mark; informal come a cropper, flop.
25A0; fall for (informal)
she fell for John : FALL IN LOVE WITH, become infatuated with, lose one's heart to, take a fancy to, be smitten by, be attracted to; informal fancy, have the hots for.
she won't fall for that trick : BE DECEIVED BY, be duped by, be fooled by, be taken in by, believe, trust, be convinced by; informal go for, buy, swallow (hook, line, and sinker).
25A0; fall in
the roof fell in : COLLAPSE, cave in, crash in, fall down; give way, crumble, disintegrate.
the troops fell in : GET IN FORMATION, get in line, line up, take one's position; Military dress.
25A0; fall in with
he fell in with a bad crowd : GET INVOLVED WITH, take up with, join up with, go around with, string along with, make friends with; informal hang out/about with.
he won't fall in with their demands : COMPLY WITH, go along with, support, cooperate with, obey, yield to, submit to, bow to, defer to, adhere to, conform to; agree to, agree with, accept, concur with.
25A0; fall off . See fall verb sense 4.
25A0; fall on ATTACK, assail, assault, fly at, set about, set upon; pounce upon, ambush, surprise, rush, storm, charge; informal jump, lay into, pitch into, beat someone up; Brit. informal have a go at.
25A0; fall out
let's not fall out : QUARREL, argue, row, fight, squabble, bicker, have words, disagree, be at odds, clash, wrangle, cross swords, lock horns, be at loggerheads, be at each other's throats; informal scrap, argufy, argy-bargy.
the soldiers fell out : MOVE OUT OF FORMATION, move out of line; stand at ease.
25A0; fall short of FAIL TO MEET, fail to reach, fail to live up to; be deficient, be inadequate, be insufficient, be wanting, be lacking, disappoint; informal not come up to scratch.
25A0; fall through FAIL, be unsuccessful, come to nothing, miscarry, abort, go awry, collapse, founder, come to grief; informal fizzle out, flop, fold, come a cropper, go down like a lead balloon.