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falling

falling

111 1.1
An act of dropping from a higher place
  • noun
  • /ˈfɔːlɪŋ/
translation icon : caída
  • During autumn, the leaves are known for their beautiful falling from the trees.
  • fear of falling
  • risk of falling
  • frequency of falling

Examples

  • The child had a frightening experience after a sudden falling from the swing.

  • He was worried about the falling of the fragile vase from the table.

  • OK, now let's talk about things falling into a black hole.

  • And as in a crowded forest, a single falling tree can bring down far too many others.

    Academic text (2012)
  • If there was a storm, he disappeared in the falling snow, and we couldn't find him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Capital flight and the falling exchange rate combined to wreak havoc on the stock market.

    Academic text (2002)
  • All he could recall was that endless falling, the light pulsing and flaring.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

fall
vsfalling
191 1.0

A drop from a higher to a lower level

is the same sense but focuses on the action as ongoing
descent
vsfalling
89 3.7

A movement down from a higher place to a lower place or a slope that goes down

is about a single act of moving down rather than a gradual slope
tumble
vsfalling
46 2.9

A rolling fall or gymnastic turn of the body

denotes coming down without implying rolling or acrobatic motion
drop
vsfalling
45 1.0

A sudden fall from a higher place to a lower place

can mean any act of moving down not only sudden ones
spill
vsfalling
13 1.7

A sudden fall when someone loses balance while moving

refers to any act of moving down not only loss of balance cases
free fall
vsfalling
  • Specialized
6 4.0

Movement of something downwards while only gravity pulls it

is the ordinary act of moving down not limited to physics cases
droppage
vsfalling
7.9

An event when something falls or is let go and hits the ground

focuses on a single act or instance rather than an ongoing process

Antonyms

718 1.0

To move upward into the air, like smoke or mist

Compounds

falling out
  • Informal
30 4.4

A disagreement that ends or weakens a relationship

9 4.8

A clear drop in how well something works or how much there is

intelligent falling
  • Literature
9.9

A joke idea that a higher being makes things fall to mock explanations that are not scientific

How High

plunge
20 4.0
drop
45 1.0
tumble
46 2.9
falling
111 1.1
slide
5 1.0
slip
8 1.0

Surface Forms

falling singular
fallings plural

Morphology

falling = fall (transparent) = fall + ing

A deverbal noun/gerund formed with '-ing' that denotes an instance or action of the verb 'fall', which learners can readily infer.

Etymology

Falling as a noun comes from the verb fall, which means 'to drop', so a falling is simply an act of something coming down from a higher place. This links the word directly to events like a curtain dropping or a person slipping and falling.