free fall
6
4.6
- noun
- /fri fɔl/
:
caída libre
- After a decline in economic output of some 40 percent between 1989 and 1994, the free fall has ended.
- economy in free fall
- free fall in prices
- stocks in free fall
And that if that happens, the US economy will go into a free fall.
- And that if that happens, the US economy will go into a free fall.
- That's because someone knew how to get out of the free fall that I'm going through.
Examples
-
We were in free fall, and stimulus ended that free fall and even the recession.
Blog text (16) -
"Classic fantasy, except for a few bestsellers, is in free fall," she says.
Academic text (2008) -
The U.S. economy was in a free fall under Bush.
Blog text (29) -
In 2008, when Obama took office, the economy was in a free fall.
Blog text (1) -
Whenever the bottom drops out of a nation's economy, a team's season, or an individual's career, they enter "free fall."
Academic text (2011) -
The economy was in free fall; we were losing 750K jobs a month. Are we doing better today?
Blog text (11) -
Zimbabwe has been on an economic slide since 1995, but went into free fall in 1997.
Academic text (2000) -
The economy continues its free fall, shedding 700,000 jobs a month.
Blog text (30) -
The legal profession, with courageous and honorable exceptions, has contributed significantly to the apparently free-fall disintegration of individual human rights in South Africa.
Academic text (1990) -
The company is experiencing a free fall in stock prices as investors lose confidence.
Synonyms
230
2.5
A sudden large decrease in amount or value
106
2.5
A sudden drop in amount, value, or importance
50
3.3
A sudden fall in amount or value
10
3.9
A sudden decrease in amount, quality or rate
8
4.9
A sudden steep fall in value or amount
3
4.0
A drop in amount, level, or quality
1
5.1
A period when something gets worse
A sudden fast downward movement, often of people or things
Antonyms
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'sudden and sharp decrease' is directly built from 'fall' (a decline) plus 'free' in the sense 'uncontrolled/unrestrained' rather than 'without cost', so the combined sense of an uncontrolled or rapid decline is predictable. This compositional metaphor is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'caída libre'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will very likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Free fall is used for a sudden, sharp drop in value and comes from the picture of physical free fall—something falling fast with nothing to stop it. So we say a stock or price is 'in free fall' when it drops quickly and without control.