to fall in
16
6.3
- phrasal verb
- /fɔl ɪn/
- Jargon
:
formarse (en fila)
- All right, fall in behind the last man.
Examples
-
Action Man patrol, fall in.
-
Gentlemen, fall in.
-
Let's go, people, fall in downstairs.
-
Then he led his command to fall in with the men of the 35th.
Fiction book (1990) -
The Fruit of Islam fall in behind him, marching slowly.
Fiction book (1992) -
Company, fall in!
-
Bravo company, fall in.
-
Fall in!
-
Fall in at attention!
-
All right, you men, fall in for the morning formation.
Synonyms
1
6.0
To walk together in an organized group for a parade or ceremony
Antonyms
How Organized
115
2.6
- Jargon
16
6.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to collapse inward' is directly derivable from combining 'fall' (move downward) with 'in' (into/inside), so a learner who knows both words can infer a physical collapse. The metaphorical extension to organizations uses the same spatial imagery and follows common verb+particle patterns cross-linguistically, making it predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Fall in comes from old military orders telling soldiers to fall in — step into their place and form a line, like recruits moving into ranks at a command. That's why fall in means 'to line up' or take position.