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1. The petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
    
2. A steep descent of the water of a river
   - waterfall

1. [N. Amer] The season when the leaves fall from the trees
   "in the fall of 1973";
   - autumn
    
2. A sudden drop from an upright position
   "he had a nasty fall on the ice";
   - spill, tumble
    
3. A downward slope or bend
   - descent, declivity, decline, declination, declension, downslope
    
4. A lapse into sin; a loss of innocence or of chastity
   "a fall from virtue"
    
5. A sudden decline in strength, number or importance
   "the fall of the House of Hapsburg";
   - downfall, slide
    
6. A movement downward
   "the rise and fall of the tides"
    
7. The act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions)
   "they were protected until the fall of the fort";
   - capitulation, surrender
    
8. The time of day immediately following sunset
   "they finished before the fall of night";
   - twilight, dusk, gloaming, gloam [archaic], nightfall, evenfall, crepuscule, crepuscle
    
9. When a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
   - pin
    
10. A free and rapid descent by the force of gravity
    "it was a miracle that he survived the fall from that height";
    - drop
     
11. A sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
    "when that became known the price of their stock went into free fall";
    - drop, dip, free fall

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 barometer is falling"; "The curtain fell on the diva"; "Her hand went up and then fell again";
   - descend, go down, come down, sink
    
3. Pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
   "fall into a trap"; "She fell ill"; "They fell out of favour"; "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";
   - come
    
5. (of rain, snow, etc.) landing after falling from the clouds
   "rain, snow and sleet were falling";
   - precipitate, come down
    
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"; "The shooting victim fell dead"
    
8. Touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
   "Light fell on her face";
   - 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. Become smaller or less in size, extent, or range
    "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper";
    - decrease, diminish, lessen
     
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
     
18. To be given by right or inheritance
    "The estate fell to the oldest daughter"
     
19. Come into the possession of
    "The house fell to the oldest son";
    - accrue
     
20. Be allotted to somebody by assignment or as part of their role
    "The task fell to me"; "It fell to me to notify the parents of the victims";
    - light
     
21. Be inherited by
    "The estate fell to my sister";
    - 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";
    - 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 falls well";
    - hang, 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";
    - descend, settle

Derived forms: fallses

See also: break, come apart, come to nothing, crumble, dawdle, drop away, drop off, fall apart, fall away, fall back, fall behind, fall flat, fall for, fall through, flop, founder, go to the wall [informal], lag, recede, separate, slip, split up

Type of: be, be born, begin, body of water, buy the farm [N. Amer, informal], cash in [informal], cash in one's chips [informal], change, change hands, change magnitude, change of location, change owners, change posture, change state, chlamys, choke, come, come about, come forth, come out, commence, conk [informal], cop it [Brit, informal], croak [informal], decease [archaic], decrease, decrement, descent, die, disappear, drop dead, egress, emerge, exit, expire, fail, fall out, flatline [informal], floral envelope, get, get down, give-up the ghost [informal], go, go away, go forth, go on, go wrong, gravitation, hap [archaic], happen, hour, incline, issue, kick the bucket [informal], leave office, locomote, loss, miscarry, move, occur, pass, pass away, pass off, perianth, perigone, perigonium, perish, pitch, pop off [informal], pop one's clogs [informal], quit, resign, season, set about, set out, side, sin, sinning, slip, slope, snuff it [informal], start, start out, step down, take place, time of day, time of year, transgress, travel, trespass, trip, triumph, turn, vanish, victory, water, weakening, yield

Antonym: ascend, rise

Part of: eve, even, evening, eventide, river, wrestling match

Encyclopedia: Falls, Pennsylvania