Skip to main content
to fall

to fall

66 6.3
Show a sudden sad or disappointed look
  • verb
  • /fɔl/
: entristecerse
  • He's falling apart.
  • fall silent
  • fall into melancholy

Examples

  • Eleanor Butler watched, puzzled, as Scarlett's mouth fell half-open in surprise, and her eyes glittered with excitement.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Then her eyes fell; she turned again and went back to her window ledge.

    Academic text (2017)
  • My heart falls in on itself when you look at me like that.

  • We're leaving for Toronto in the morning... ...so don't fall apart on me now.

  • One-third of unemployed young people "fall apart" emotionally about their lack.

    Academic text (2015)
  • I fell apart and wound up in the psychiatric portion of NYU.

  • My smile fell the moment I heard the bad news.

  • Her gaze fell to the ground, filled with disappointment.

  • I could see his mood fall when they announced the cancellation.

Synonyms

to plummet
vsto fall
97 5.8

Fall suddenly and steeply from a high place or in amount

marks a sudden emotional change rather than a steep physical or numeric decline
to slump
vsto fall
58 4.0

To sit down or fall forward suddenly and heavily

expresses a sudden emotional change visible in face eyes mood or silence
to drop open
vsto fall
4 3.7

To have the mouth or jaw suddenly fall open because of surprise

shows a sudden emotional change mainly expressing disappointment or sadness

Antonyms

to cheer up
  • Informal
236 1.4

To feel happier after being sad or to make someone feel happier

Idioms

To become available to people who might use it to harm others

A loss of status and respect after wrongdoing

10 6.5

Stop taking part or trying because of problems

To get something good without effort or planning

To accept what happens and not try to change the result

Children often look and behave like their parents

3 9.9

Things sold or bought secretly because they were stolen

Not get noticed or dealt with

To not be easily fooled because you have experience

To get things someone probably stole and sold cheaply

1 8.6

Continue doing something with energy until you can no longer

Accept a big risk to protect other people

Hug someone tightly because you feel very happy or relieved

Suddenly fail completely because it is weak or badly built

To begin behaving badly again and lose people's respect

To die as a Christian who trusts in God and expects life after death

Fail to reach either goal because you try to do both

1 7.6

To fail badly and embarrass yourself in front of other people

Fail at the final stage after earlier success

To fail completely and feel embarrassed in front of others

To look much less attractive after a sudden change

To die or suddenly lose an important position

To react strongly because something is very funny or surprising

8.8

To go to bed or sleep

6.4

To get something good without trying or expecting it

To keep trying after many failures no matter how often you fail

To lose your balance and land on your backside in an awkward or embarrassing way

To accept blame or quit a job to protect other people

Phrasal Verbs

843 2.5

To begin to feel strong romantic feelings for someone

785 4.4

To collapse inward, as a roof or organization breaking down

To begin to feel strong romantic feelings for someone or something

452 1.0

To start sleeping

326 1.0

Suddenly move from a standing position to the ground or a lower level

243 2.8

To break into pieces or stop working properly

233 2.3

Separate from something by breaking or dropping

to fall for
  • Informal
180 4.3

To be tricked into believing something that is not true

to fall for
  • Informal
166 3.7

To start to like someone as more than a friend

to fall apart
  • Informal
152 4.2

To lose control of your feelings because of strong stress or sadness

144 1.4

Lose your balance and drop down from something like a ladder

143 3.5

To come out and drop from where it grew or was held

95 3.7

To move back to a safer place when facing danger

91 3.9

Fail to reach the level people expect

To not keep up with others or a schedule

71 3.6

To belong to a group or type

to take the fall
  • Informal
60 7.5

Accept blame or punishment, often instead of someone else

To fail to happen or be finished as planned

53 1.0

To lose your balance or stop being steady and end up on the ground

51 3.4

To be part of a group or category

To not reach the level people expect

46 4.3

To use something for help when other options fail

To become clear and easy to understand after confusion

to fall in
  • Jargon
39 6.3

To form a line with other soldiers when ordered

32 3.6

To move quickly backwards and lose balance so you land on something

Suffer harm you cannot avoid because of someone or something bad

to fall in line
  • Informal
26 4.3

To follow rules or other people after not wanting to at first

24 2.6

Become less in number, amount, or quality

22 4.3

To become less in amount or quality

20 3.6

To stop being friendly with someone after an argument

to fall flat
  • Informal
18 4.9

To fail to get a response or interest from people

17 3.0

To happen on a certain day or date

15 4.2

To begin an old bad habit again after trying to change

13 3.7

To join a group, team, or club

13 4.4

To happen as a direct result of something

to fall all over
  • Informal
10 7.6

To praise or thank someone too much and show strong liking for them

to fall out
  • Jargon
9 6.4

For soldiers to leave a formation when an officer gives an order

7 3.0

To move apart by itself suddenly because of surprise or gravity

To move back when others move forward

To stop being noticed or thought about by someone

4 3.6

To find something by chance

To drop into a hole by accident

Become tricked into a bad or dangerous situation

2 3.8

To move behind others in speed or progress

1 3.6

Start acting the same as before after trying to change

to fall around
  • Informal
1 4.2

Move and tumble on the ground in a happy, playful way

Start doing the same things in the same order every day

To feel sad or discouraged

to fall asleep
  • Specialized
1 3.0

To go into low-power mode automatically when a device is idle

To drop suddenly onto the floor and lie face down or stretched out

1 4.8

To try very hard to please or help someone more than needed

To be tricked by someone's flattering words

Compounds

fall guy
  • Informal
20 7.6

A person who others blame so they avoid punishment

free fall
  • Specialized
17 4.0

Movement of something downwards while only gravity pulls it

16 4.6

A sudden large drop in value, often of stocks or prices

Fall of man
  • Literature
1 9.9

A Christian belief that people lose their innocence when they disobey God

Fall of Man
  • Literature
1 8.9

An event in the Bible when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, lost their innocence, and left the Garden

1 6.0

The time when day and night are almost the same length, marking the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere

1 6.0

A moment when a play or show ends and the curtain comes down

1 4.7

A plant that produces flowers in autumn

fall webworm
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A caterpillar that lives in large silk nests on tree branches and eats the leaves in late summer and fall

1 8.1

A small European plant with yellow flowers that blooms in the fall and is now common in North America

fall girl
  • Offensive
1 9.2

A woman who is easily tricked and often blamed for other people's mistakes

fall armyworm
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A caterpillar that eats and destroys corn and other grass crops

fall cankerworm
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A green or brown caterpillar with white stripes that eats tree leaves in autumn

A bush that loses its leaves and has large cone-shaped flowers in fall

A cover that folds down to protect piano keys when not played

How Sad

to break down
117 3.9
to hang low
1 4.4
to fall
66 6.3
frown
53 1.0

Surface Forms

fall infinitive
falling present participle
falls third person singular
fell past
fallen past participle

Etymology

If someone's face falls, it is as if their expression drops down, from old English feallan 'to fall'. So a face or mood 'falling' shows sudden sadness or disappointment.