1. Cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
   "fell a tree";
   - drop, strike down, cut down
    
2. Pass away rapidly
   "The daylight fell quickly in the winter months";
   - fly, vanish
    
3. Sew a seam by folding the edges
   "The tailor felled the seam to create a flat, strong join"

1. The act of felling something (as a tree)
   "The fell of the ancient oak saddened the conservationists"; "The lumberjacks began the fell of the forest at dawn"
    
2. The dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
   "The Native American drum was made from buffalo fell";
   - hide
    
3. Seam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edges
   "The tailor used a fell to create a smooth finish on the jeans";
   - felled seam
    
4. [UK] High moorland or unforested hill
   "We hiked across the fells of the Lake District"

1. (of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
   "The fell tyrant ruled with an iron fist";
   - barbarous, brutal, cruel, roughshod, savage, vicious

1. Descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
   "The branch fell from the tree"; "The unfortunate hiker fell into a crevasse"
    
2. Pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
   "She fell ill"; "They fell out of favour"; "Fall in love"; "fall prey to an imposter"; "fall into a strange way of thinking"; "she fell to pieces after she lost her work"; "fall into a trap"; "fall asleep"
    
3. Come under, be classified or included
   "fall into a category";
   - come
    
4. Lose an upright position suddenly
   "The vase fell over and the water spilled onto the table"; "Her hair fell across her forehead"; "The child fell down while learning to walk";
   - fall down
    
5. Drop oneself to a lower or less erect position
   "She fell back in her chair"; "He fell to his knees"
    
6. Move in a specified direction
   "The line of men fall forward"
    
7. Slope downward
   "The hills around here fall towards the ocean"
    
8. Fall or flow in a certain way
   "This dress falls well";
   - hang, flow
    
9. (of rain, snow, etc.) landing after falling from the clouds
   "rain, snow and sleet were falling";
   - precipitate, come down
    
10. Suffer defeat, failure, or ruin
    "We must stand or fall"; "fall by the wayside"
     
11. Become reduced in amount, level, intensity, or value
    "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper";
    - decrease, diminish, lessen, come down, go down, sink, dent
     
12. Touch or seem as if touching visually or audibly
    "Light fell on her face";
    - shine, strike
     
13. Be captured
    "The cities fell to the enemy"
     
14. Lose office or power
    "The government fell overnight"; "The Qing Dynasty fell with Sun Yat-sen"
     
15. Yield to temptation or sin
    "Adam and Eve fell"
     
16. Die, as in battle or in a hunt
    "Many soldiers fell at Verdun"; "The shooting victim fell dead"
     
17. Lose one's chastity
    "She worried that she would fall if she spent too much time alone with him"
     
18. 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"
     
19. To be given by right or inheritance
    "The estate fell to the oldest daughter"
     
20. Come into the possession of
    "The house fell to the oldest son";
    - accrue
     
21. 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
     
22. Be inherited by
    "The estate fell to my sister";
    - return, pass, devolve
     
23. Assume a disappointed or sad expression
    "Her face fell when she heard that she would be laid off"; "his crest fell"
     
24. Be cast down
    "his eyes fell"
     
25. Come out; issue
    "silly phrases fell from her mouth"
     
26. Occur at a specified time or place
    "Christmas falls on a Monday this year"; "The accent falls on the first syllable"
     
27. Begin vigorously
    "The prisoners fell to work right away"
     
28. Go as if by falling
    "Grief fell from our hearts"
     
29. Come as if by falling
    "Night fell"; "Silence fell";
    - descend, settle
     
30. Be born, used chiefly of lambs
    "The lambs fell in the afternoon"
     
31. Be due
    "payments fall on the 1st of the month"

Derived forms: fells, felling, felled

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], inhumane, lag, recede, separate, slip, split up

Type of: alter, animal skin, be, be born, begin, buy the farm [N. Amer, informal], cash in [informal], cash in one's chips [informal], change, change hands, change magnitude, change owners, change posture, change state, come, come about, come forth, come out, conk [informal], cop it [Brit, informal], croak [informal], cut, decease [archaic], die, disappear, drop dead [informal], egress, elapse, emerge, exit, expire, fail, fall out, flatline [informal], get, get down, give up the ghost [informal], glide by, go, go along, go away, go by, go forth, go on, go wrong, hap [archaic], happen, incline, issue, kick the bucket [informal], kill, killing, lapse, leave office, locomote, miscarry, move, occur, pass, pass away, pass off, pass on, perish, pitch, pop off [informal], pop one's clogs [informal], putting to death, quit, resign, run up, seam, set about, set out, sew, sew together, sin, slide by, slip away, slip by, slope, snuff it [informal], start, start out, step down, stitch, stitch up, take place, transgress, travel, trespass [archaic], turn, vanish, vary, yield

Encyclopedia: Fell, Michael