Tra từ fall - Từ điển tiếng Anh - Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary

fall UK [fɔːl] US [fɑːl] verb [ fell ], [ fallen ] [ fell fallen falls falling ]

HAVE AN ACCIDENT

1. <E > intransitive to suddenly go down onto the ground or towards the ground without intending to or by accident
• The path's very steep, so be careful you don't fall.
• He fell badly and broke his leg.
• Athletes have to learn how to fall without hurting themselves.
• She fell under a bus and was killed instantly.
• The horse fell at the first fence.
• I fell down the stairs and injured my back.
• She had fallen, it appeared, from a great height.
• The water's deep here, so don't fall in!
• He fell into the river and drowned.
• If you fell off the roof, you'd kill yourself.
• He was leaning out of the window and fell out.
• She fell five metres to the bottom of the ravine.
• He fell to his death climbing the Matterhorn.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Falling and dropping ↑Moving downwards
2. fall flat on your face informal
to fall and land with your face down
• Poor Kathy fell flat on her face in the mud.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Falling and dropping ↑Moving downwards

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

• Keep away from the edge of the cliff - you might fall.
• Hold onto the rail so that you don't fall.
• They were mocking him because he kept falling off his bike.
• She knocked her head against the wall as she fell.
• We heard a splash and then saw that Toni had fallen in the river.

BECOME LOWER

3. <E > intransitive to become lower in size, amount or strength
• Demand for new cars has fallen due to the recession.
• The standard of his work has fallen during the year.
• Salaries in the public sector are expected to fall by 15% this year.
• The temperature could fall below zero overnight.
• Average temperatures fell by ten degrees.
• The pound has fallen to its lowest-ever level against the dollar.
• When the teacher walked in, the children's voices fell to a whisper (= they became very quiet).
• Share prices fell sharply this week.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Becoming and making smaller or less ↑Becoming and making less strong

Common errors:
To talk about something becoming lower in size, amount or strength, don't say 'fall down', say fall:
✗ Last year the company's profits fell down dramatically.
• Last year the company's profits fell dramatically.
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

• The temperature has fallen below zero recently.
• Inflation has fallen below 2%, and that's official.
• The flood waters fell, depositing mud over the whole area.
• Many economists expect unemployment to fall over the next couple of months.
• If your bank account balance falls below the minimum, you'll be nicked for a $5 service charge.

COME DOWN

4. <E > intransitive to come down onto the ground or from a high position to a lower position
• The snow had been falling steadily all day.
• You can tell it's autumn because the leaves have started to fall.
• She fell into bed, completely exhausted.
• A bomb fell on the church and destroyed it.
• A huge meteor fell to Earth in the middle of the desert.
• He begged for mercy as the blows fell on him (= as he was being hit).
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Moving downwards ↑Falling and dropping
5. fall to your knees ( also fall down on your knees )
to go down on your knees to show respect
• The people all fell to their knees and began to pray.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Showing respect and admiration
6. intransitive When the curtain falls in the theatre, it comes down because the play or performance has ended
• The audience was still laughing as the curtain fell.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Moving downwards ↑Falling and dropping

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

• Although the curtain has now fallen on the Republican era, many of its values still remain.
• The fact that aircraft don't fall out of the sky always seems to me to defy the law of gravity.
• The satellite will fragment and burn up as it falls through the Earth's atmosphere.
• Her luxuriant hair fell around her shoulders.
• Rain had been falling steadily all day and the ground had become a marsh.

BELONG TO

7. <A > intransitive usually + adverb or preposition to belong to a particular group, subject or area
• The material falls into three categories.
• Matters of discipline fall outside my area of responsibility.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Duty, obligation and responsibility

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

• They believe that all the outstanding issues should fall within the ambit of the talks.
• What genre does the book fall into - comedy or tragedy?
• This case falls outside the purview of this particular court.
• The matter falls outside his area of jurisdiction.
• This research paper falls outside my own area of expertise.

BECOME

8. <A > intransitive + adverb or preposition L to change to a particular condition from a different one
• He always falls asleep after drinking red wine.
• Your rent falls due (= must be paid) on the first of the month.
• She suddenly fell ill.
• The book fell open (= opened by chance) at the page on Venice.
• The government has fallen strangely silent on the subject of tax cuts after all its promises at the last election.
• Silence fell on the group of men (= They became silent) as they received the news.
• She fell under the influence of (= began to be influenced by) an older student.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Changing ↑Adapting and modifying ↑Adapting and attuning to something ↑Changing frequently

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

• They let the palace fall into ruin.
• The buildings had started to fall into decay.
• He fell unconscious shortly after the accident.
• Sophia fell ill while on holiday.
• After we'd explained about the change of plan, the children fell strangely quiet for a minute or two.

BE DEFEATED

9. intransitive to be beaten or defeated
• The government finally fell after losing the support of the centre parties.
• The president fell from power during the military coup.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Losing and being defeated ↑Scoring, winning and losing in sport
10. intransitive If a place falls in a war or an election, an enemy army or a different political party gets control of it
• Rome fell to the Vandals in 455 AD.
• The constituency fell to Labour at the last election, after ten years of Conservative rule.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Losing and being defeated ↑Scoring, winning and losing in sport
11. intransitive literary If soldiers fall while fighting, they are killed
• Many brave men fell in the fight to save the city.
• During the war, he saw many of his comrades fall in battle.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Death and dying
12. intransitive In cricket, when a wicket falls, the turn of the player who is hitting the ball ends
• Ten wickets fell in 22 overs.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Cricket ↑General terms used in ball sports

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

HAPPEN

13. intransitive to come at a particular time or happen in a particular place
• Easter falls late this year.
• My birthday will fall on a Friday this year.
• Night/Darkness had fallen by the time we got back to the camp.
• In the word 'table', the accent falls on the first syllable.
• The Treasury has still not decided where the cuts will fall.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Occurring and happening

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

HANG DOWN

14. intransitive usually + adverb or preposition to hang down loosely
• The boy's hair fell around his shoulders in golden curls.
• The veil fell almost to her waist.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Hanging and suspending

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.

UNHAPPY

15. your face/spirits fall
If your face falls, you suddenly look unhappy or disappointed, and if your spirits fall, you suddenly feel unhappy or disappointed
• His spirits fell when he saw the distance he still had to go.
• As she read her exam results, her face fell.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Disappointing yourself and others

Common errors:
Warning: Check your verb endings!
Many learners make mistakes when using fall in the past tense.
The past simple and past participle of fall is fell.
✗ Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.
• Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.
Felt is the past simple and past participle of feel.
Idioms: fall between two stools ▪ fall by the wayside ▪ fall flat ▪ fall foul of somebody ▪ fall foul of something ▪ fall in love ▪ fall prey to somebody ▪ fall short ▪ nearly fall off your chair
Phrasal Verbs: fall about ▪ fall apart ▪ fall away ▪ fall back ▪ fall back on something ▪ fall behind ▪ fall down ▪ fall down on something ▪ fall for somebody ▪ fall for something ▪ fall from something ▪ fall in ▪ fall in with somebody ▪ fall in with something ▪ fall into something ▪ fall off ▪ fall on somebody ▪ fall on something ▪ fall out ▪ fall over ▪ fall over something ▪ fall through ▪ fall to ▪ fall to somebody

noun

LOWER AMOUNT

1. <I > countable usually singular when the size, amount or strength of something gets lower
• a fall in the price of petrol/the unemployment rate
• We could hear the rise and fall of voices in the other room.
• There was a fall in support for the Republican party at the last election.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Becoming and making smaller or less ↑Becoming and making less strong

• The last ten years have seen a dramatic fall in the number of adoptions.
• The City acted swiftly to the news of a fall in the value of sterling.
• Yesterday the company announced its first ever fall in profits.
• The fall in interest rates is excellent news for borrowers.
• There was a larger-than-expected fall in unemployment last month.

SEASON

2. <I > countable or uncountable US ( UK autumn ) the season after summer and before winter, when fruits and crops become ripe and the leaves fall off the trees
• Next fall we'll be back in New York.
• They met in the fall of 1992.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑The seasons

• In the fall, everyone is out raking up the dead leaves.
• The garden is a blaze of colour in the fall.
• They plan to get married in the fall.
• Check out our new catalog for all the latest fall and winter fashions.
• We were planning a trip to Europe next fall.

ACCIDENT

3. <A > countable usually singular when someone or something falls down to the ground, usually without intending to or by accident
• He had/took a nasty fall and hurt his back.
• the fall of the Berlin Wall (= when the Berlin Wall was destroyed)
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Falling and dropping ↑Moving downwards

• The soft grass cushioned his fall.
• I was in no mood for heroics after my fall and skied very slowly down the mountainside.
• The horse broke its front leg in the fall.
• He spent the last ten years of his life in a wheelchair after a fall which left him paralysed from the waist down.
• After her fall she complained that she couldn't bend her leg properly.

MOVEMENT DOWNWARDS
4. countable usually singular when something moves down onto the ground or from a higher position to a lower position
• a heavy fall of snow
See also rainfall
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Moving downwards ↑Falling and dropping
5. falls
often used in place names to mean a very wide waterfall, often made of many separate waterfalls
• Niagara Falls
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Watercourses and waterfalls

DEFEAT
6. countable usually singular when someone is defeated or loses their power
• the fall of Rome
• The army took control of the city after the president's fall from power.
Thesaurus⁺: ↑Losing and being defeated ↑Scoring, winning and losing in sport
Idioms: fall from grace ▪ take a fall for somebody