to fall into a hole
1
2.0
- phrasal verb
:
caer en un agujero
- I was hoping that someone would run onto the field and stop me, or that I would fall into a hole and be sucked to the center of the earth, or that somehow I could disappear.
Examples
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"I am afraid to fall into a hole," said Caruso, trembling as they left the safety of the sidewalk.
Fiction book (2000) -
He was distracted by his phone and suddenly fell into a hole on the sidewalk.
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I fall into a hole.
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-Accidently fall into a hole.
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The cart falls into a hole, and the horse can't pull it out.
Academic text (2002) -
The observer would not see a starship suddenly disappear as it fell into a hole.
Academic text (1996) -
"It is better to fall into a hole in the ground and be crushed upon the rocks than to fall into error and lose all hope of eternity."
Fiction book (2000) -
As she was running through the park, she accidentally fell into a hole that she didn't notice.
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While hiking, I lost my balance and fell into a hole hidden by the tall grass.
Antonyms
How Forceful
56
4.2
1
2.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to accidentally descend or drop into a hole' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'fall' (to shift or drop from higher to lower) with the directional preposition 'into' and the noun 'hole'; the composition follows a straightforward motion verb + preposition + object pattern. This is a cross-linguistically common, literal construction and therefore a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the MWE meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Fall into a hole paints a simple picture: someone walking and their foot suddenly falls through, so they fall into a hidden hole. That's why it means 'to drop into a hole' or 'to do so by mistake' or 'unexpectedly'.