- [countable] an act of falling
- I had a bad fall and broke my arm.
- fall from something She was killed in a fall from a horse.
Extra Examples- He was hurt in a fall at his home yesterday.
- Luckily a bush broke his fall.
- She took a bad fall while out riding.
- The chances of surviving a fall under a train are almost nil.
- The doctor says she's had a very nasty fall.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- bad
- nasty
- terrible
- …
- have
- suffer
- take
- …
- in a/the fall
- fall from
- [countable] fall (of something) an amount of snow, rain, rocks, etc. that falls or has fallen
- a heavy fall of snow
- a rock fall
Extra ExamplesTopics Weathera2- covered by a light fall of volcanic ash
- a fresh fall of snow
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- heavy
- light
- fresh
- …
- fall of
- [countable, uncountable] (North American English) (also especially British English autumn)the season of the year between summer and winter, when leaves change colour and the weather becomes colder
- in the fall of 2023
- last fall
- Cool, damp fall weather brings out snails.
- He returned to school a month into the fall semester.
Extra ExamplesTopics Timea2- New England's gorgeous fall foliage
- The trees were on fire with vibrant fall colors.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- last
- this past
- the following
- …
- weather
- color
- foliage
- …
- [countable] a decrease in size, number, rate or level
- Share prices suffered a slight fall yesterday.
- fall in something a sharp fall in prices
- a steep/dramatic fall in profits
- a 3 per cent fall in unemployment
Language Bank fallfallDescribing a decrease- Car crime in Oxford fell significantly last year.
- Car crime fell by about a quarter over a 12-month period.
- The number of stolen vehicles dropped from 1 013 to 780, a fall of 26 per cent.
- According to this data, 780 vehicles were stolen, 26 per cent down on the previous year.
- There was an 11 per cent drop in reported thefts from motor vehicles, from 1 971 to 1 737.
- These figures show that, as far as car crime is concerned, the main trend is downwards.
Extra ExamplesTopics Change, cause and effecta2- The fall in age at first marriage occurred during the second half of the eighteenth century.
- The opinion polls show a significant fall in her popularity.
- This figure represents a fall of 21 per cent on the same period last year.
- This triggered the recent dramatic falls on the Tokyo stock exchange.
- a big fall in house prices
- a large fall in share prices
- a projected fall of 2 per cent
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- dramatic
- great
- …
- bring
- cause
- contribute to
- …
- occur
- fall in
- [singular] fall (of something) a loss of political, economic, etc. power or success; the loss or defeat of a city, country, etc. in war
- the fall of the Roman Empire
- the rise and fall of British industry
- the fall of Berlin
Extra ExamplesTopics Difficulty and failurec1- the fall of Rome to the barbarians
- The scandal undoubtedly contributed to his fall from power.
- The novel is set in the revolutionary period in France, following the fall of Louis Philippe.
- The economic crisis worsened, bringing about the fall of the government.
- Napoleon's rise and fall
- He remained determined to prevent the fall of South Vietnam to the Communists.
- the actions that led to his eventual fall from power
- a book charting the rise and fall of the Habsburg Empire
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + fall- bring about
- cause
- contribute to
- …
- fall from
- the rise and fall of something
- [singular] a situation in which a person, an organization, etc. loses the respect of other people because they have done something wrong
- the TV preacher’s spectacular fall from grace
- His diary charts his dramatic fall from grace.
- falls[plural] (especially in names) a large amount of water falling down from a height synonym waterfall
- The falls upstream are full of salmon.
- Niagara Falls
- [singular] fall of something the way in which something falls or happens
- the fall of the dice
- the dark fall of her hair (= the way her hair hangs down)
- the Fall[singular] the occasion when Adam and Eve did not obey God and had to leave the Garden of Eden
act of falling
of snow/rain/rocks
autumn
decrease
defeat
loss of respect
of water
way something falls/happens
in Bible
Word OriginOld English fallan, feallan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vallen and German fallen; the noun is partly from the verb, partly from Old Norse fall ‘downfall, sin’.
Idioms
See fall in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee fall in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe riding for a fall
- to be doing something that involves risks and that may end in disaster
break somebody’s fall
- to stop somebody from falling onto something hard
- Luckily, a bush broke his fall.
pride comes/goes before a fall
- (saying) if you have too high an opinion of yourself or your abilities, something will happen to make you look stupid
take the fall (for somebody/something)
- (especially North American English, informal) to accept responsibility or punishment for something that you did not do, or did not do alone
- He took the fall for his boss and resigned.
- Who will take the fall for the scandal?
- Someone has to take the fall.
Check pronunciation:
fall