be acting in a reckless way that is likely to end in trouble or disaster.
"With your present attitude, you're riding for a fall"
"One of his songs has fallen foul of censorship regulations"
"She defiantly pledges not to fall into line with the masses"
(Of a series of events or facts) begin to make sense.
"Once he knew what to look for, the theory fell quickly into place"
fail to meet an expectation or standard.
"The total vote fell short of the required two-thirds majority"
break up, come apart, or disintegrate.
"We have an elderly fleet that is virtually falling to pieces"
(Of a person) lose one's capacity to cope.
"Angie fell to pieces because she had lost everything"
break up, come apart, or disintegrate.
"Their marriage is likely to fall apart"
(Of a person) lose one's capacity to cope.
"I fell apart after his death"
incur blame or punishment in the place of another person.
"He kept his mouth shut and let McFarlane take the fall"
gradually decrease in number, amount, intensity, or quality.
"The trees began to fall away to shrubby growth"
(In sport) begin to play less well.
"When he faded the whole team fell away"
(Of land) slope downwards.
"The land fell away in a steep bank"
Fallaway /noun: fall-away
a shot made while the shooter jumps or falls away from the basket.
"Jordan hit a fallaway jumper with five minutes left"
"Audiences used to fall about when he shrugged his shoulders
move or turn back; retreat
"The enemy fell back into a defensive position”
An alternative plan that may be used in an emergency.
"Compulsory powers should be retained as a fallback"
"The offering will hit the market after a fallback from record highs"
have recourse to something when in difficulty.
"They normally fell back on one of three arguments"
fail to keep up with one's competitors.
"Britain has fallen behind in the space business"
fail to meet a commitment to make a regular payment.
"The number of borrowers falling behind with their mortgage repayments is rising"
(Of a person) lose one's balance and collapse.
"She fell down at school today"
(Of a tree, building, or other structure) collapse to the ground.
"The house looked as if it were going to fall down at any moment"
be shown to be inadequate or unsuccessful; fail.
"The deal fell down because there were a lot of unanswered questions"
be captivated by or fall in love with someone.
"She fell for a handsome younger man"
be deceived by something.
"He didn't expect Duncan to fall for a cheap trick like that"
take one's place in a line or formation.
"The soldiers fell in by the side of the road"
pass into a specified state, situation, or position.
"Many of the buildings fell into disrepair"
be drawn accidentally into a course of action or way of behaving.
"You must not fall into this common error"
(Of a river) flow or discharge itself into another body of water.
"This is the stream that falls into Gaping Gill on the moor above"
meet someone by chance and become involved with them.
"He fell in with thieves"
act in accordance with someone's ideas or suggestions; agree to something.
"Rob was happy to fall in with her plans"
become detached and drop to the ground.
"My sunglasses fell off and broke on the pavement"
decrease in number, amount, intensity, or quality.
"Attendance is bound to fall off if the major parts are always taken by the same children"
"a fall-off in work caused by the recession"
attack someone fiercely or unexpectedly.
"The army fell on the besiegers"
"She fell on the sandwiches as though she had not eaten in weeks"
(Of someone's eyes or gaze) be directed towards something.
"Her gaze fell on the mud-stained rug"
be the responsibility of a particular person or group.
"The cost of tuition should not fall on the student"
(Of the hair, teeth, etc.) become detached and drop out.
"The chemotherapy made my hair fall out"
"He had fallen out with his family"
leave one's place in a military formation, or on parade.
"The two policemen at the rear fell out of the formation"
"Matters fell out as Stephen arranged"
radioactive particles that are carried into the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion and gradually fall back as dust or in precipitation.
airborne substances resulting from an industrial process or accident.
"Acid fallout from power stations"
the adverse results of a situation or action.
"he's prepared to take calculated risks regardless of political fallout"
(Of a person) lose one's balance and collapse.
"I felt so dizzy that I fell over"
(Of computer hardware or software) stop working suddenly; crash.
"The program fell over once when I clicked on the wrong control"
be excessively eager to do something.
"Critics fell over themselves to compliment him"
"The project fell through due to lack of money"
(Of a task) become the duty or responsibility of someone.
"It fell to me to write to Shephard"
(Of property) revert to the ownership of someone.
"Land unclaimed after due notice given falls to the lord of the manor"
"He fell to musing about how it had happened"
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