VocabauraVOCABAURA

fall

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To drop down towards the ground.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fawl
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfɔl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.

  2. headingintransitive

    To be moved downwards.

  3. To come down, to drop or descend.

  4. To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself.

  5. Move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way

  6. To be brought to the ground.

noun

  1. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity.

  2. The height of that which falls or cascades.

  3. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc.

  4. A loss of greatness or status.

  5. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss.

  6. A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity.

Used this way, fall is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use fall

  • “Christmas falls on a Monday this year.”verb
  • “Rain, snow and sleet were falling.”verb

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “fall”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

fall backfall belowfall apart

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • drop

    To move to a lower position.

  • flow

    To move as a fluid from one position to another.

  • pass

    To move through time.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • fallsnounPlural form

    The petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris).

  • fallingadjectiveInflected form

    Becoming lower or less in degree or value.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • fall downverbCompound term

    Lose an upright position suddenly.

  • fall equinoxnounCompound term

    September 22.

  • fall flatverbCompound term

    Fail utterly.

  • fall from graceverbCompound term

    Revert back to bad behavior after a period of good behavior.

  • fall guynounCompound term

    A person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of.

  • fall in lineverbCompound term

    Agree on (a position).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

verb

Sense: to move to a lower position under the effect of gravity

descenddropdeclinepassprecipitatespilldownfalltumble

noun

Sense: moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity

drop

Antonyms

verb

Sense: to move to a lower position under the effect of gravity

liftupgrade

noun

Sense: moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity

climb

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “fall” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.