1
general::
fall out
TOOTH/HAIR
1. If a tooth or your hair falls out, it becomes loose and separates from your mouth or head
• Her baby teeth are starting to fall out.
• A side effect of the treatment is that your hair starts to fall out., fall out
SOLDIERS
3. If soldiers fall out, they move out of a line
• "Fall out, men!" shouted the sergeant-major., fall down
FALL
2. If a building is falling down, it is in a very bad condition and there is a risk that it will break into pieces and drop to the ground
• Many buildings in the old part of the city are falling down., fall to sb
1. to be or become the duty or job of someone
• The worst job fell to me., fall over
1. If someone falls over, they fall to the ground
• She tripped and fell over., fall away
TIME
2. literary If a period of time falls away, it seems as if it has not happened
• As she looked at him, the years fell away, and she saw him again as a young boy., fall apart
BREAK
1. to break into pieces
• My poor old boots are falling apart., fall apart
STOP WORKING
2. If an organization, system or agreement falls apart, it fails or stops working effectively
• The deal fell apart because of a lack of financing.
• Their marriage fell apart when she found out about her husband's affair., fall off
If the amount, rate or quality of something falls off, it becomes smaller or lower
• Sales have been falling off recently., fall apart
EMOTIONS
3. informal to experience serious emotional problems that make you unable to think or act in the usual way
• After his wife died, he began to fall apart., fall back
1. literary to move back suddenly from someone or something, often because you are frightened
• She fell back in horror/disgust., fall away
LAND
3. If land falls away, it slopes down suddenly
• On the other side of the hill, the land falls away sharply., fall about
( also fall about laughing ) UK informal
to laugh uncontrollably
• We fell about when we heard her reply., fall in
SOLDIERS
2. If soldiers fall in, they move into a line, one at the side of the other
• "Company, fall in!" shouted the sergeant-major.
• He started to march away, and the others fell in behind him., fall away
BREAK
1. If parts of something fall away, they break off and drop to the ground
• On the bathroom ceiling, some pieces of plaster had fallen away.
• The rear sections of the rocket fell away., fall behind
to fail to do something fast enough or on time
• He was ill for six weeks and fell behind with his schoolwork.
• I've fallen behind with the mortgage payments., fall down
FALL
1. to fall to the ground
• Our apple tree fell down in the storm.
• He stumbled and fell down., fall through
to fail to happen
• We found a buyer for our house, but then the sale fell through., fall out
ARGUE
2. informal to argue with someone and stop being friendly with them
• He left home after falling out with his parents.
• She'd fallen out with her boyfriend over his ex-girlfriend., fall on/upon sb
literary
to attack someone suddenly and unexpectedly
• The soldiers fell on the villagers and seized all their weapons., fall on/upon sth
literary EAT
2. to start to eat food eagerly
• They fell on the bread as if they hadn't eaten for days., fall on/upon sth
literary NOTICE
1. If your eyes fall on something, or your sight, eyes, etc. falls on something, you see and notice it
• Her gaze fell upon a small box at the back of the shop., fall in with sb
informal
to become friendly with someone
• She fell in with a strange crowd of people at university., fall for sth
informal
1. to be tricked into believing something that is not true
• He told me he owned a mansion in Spain and I fell for it., fall down
FAIL
3. to fail
• Where do you think the plan falls down?, fall down on sth
to not be good at something in comparison with another thing
• I'm quite good at speaking Chinese, but I fall down on the written work., fall into sth
START
1. to start doing something, often without intending to
• We've fallen into the habit of getting up late on Saturday mornings.
• I fell into my job quite by accident.
• She fell into a conversation with a man at the bar., fall over
2. If something falls over, it falls onto its side
• If you make the cake too high, it'll fall over., fall in
ROOF
1. If a roof or ceiling falls in, it drops to the ground because it is damaged
• Ten miners were trapped underground when the roof of the tunnel fell in., fall into sth
CONDITION
2. to gradually get into a particular condition, especially to get into a bad condition as a result of not being taken care of
• Over the years the house had fallen into disrepair.
• The old school fell into disuse (= people stopped using it)., fall over sth/sb
literary
to cover something or someone
• A shadow fell over her work and she looked up to see who was there., fall away/off
to become smaller or lower in amount or rate
• Membership of the club has fallen away in recent months., fall back on sth
to use something for help because no other choice is available
• When the business failed, we had to fall back on our savings.
• If I lose my job, I'll have nothing to fall back on., fall back
2. If an army falls back, it moves away from an enemy army in order to avoid fighting them
• The infantry fell back in disarray., fall for sb
informal
to suddenly have strong romantic feelings about someone
• She always falls for unsuitable men.
• He's fallen for her in a big way., fall in with sth
informal
to accept and support a plan or suggestion
• It seemed like a good idea so we just fell in with it.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
3
general::
verb drop down towards the ground ADV. heavily She fell heavily to the ground. | steadily The rain was falling steadily. | down, off, overboard A tile fell off the roof. He fell overboard in heavy seas. VERB + FALL be about to | let sb/sth She lifted her arm, but then let it fall. PREP. from, into One of the kids fell into the river. | on the snow falling on the fields | onto Loose bricks were falling down onto the ground. | to The plate fell to the floor. suddenly stop standing ADV. almost, nearly He stumbled and almost fell. | headlong She fell headlong, with a cry of alarm. | down, over One of the children fell over. VERB + FALL be about to The house looked as if it was about to fall down. PHRASES stumble/trip and fall decrease ADV. dramatically, sharply, significantly, steeply The price of coal fell sharply. | slightly | steadily VERB + FALL be expected to, be likely to Demand is likely to fall by some 15%. | continue to PREP. below Winter temperatures never fall below 10°C. | by Expenditure on education fell by 10% last year. | from The number of people unemployed has fallen from two million to just over one and a half million. | to Her voice fell to a whisper. belong to a group ADV. squarely PREP. into Out of over 400 staff there are just 14 that fall into this category. | outside That topic falls outside the scope of this thesis. | under This falls under the heading of scientific research. | within This case falls squarely within the committee's jurisdiction., noun accident ADJ. bad, nasty, terrible She took a bad fall while out riding. | accidental VERB + FALL have, suffer, take The doctor says she's had a very nasty fall. | break, cushion Luckily a bush broke his fall. | survive The chances of surviving a fall under a train are almost nil. PREP. in a/the ~ He was hurt in a fall at his home yesterday. | ~ from She broke her neck in a fall from a horse. of snow/rocks ADJ. heavy | light | fresh a fresh fall of snow | rock, snow (also snowfall) PREP. ~ of covered by a light fall of volcanic ash decrease ADJ. big, dramatic, great, large, marked, massive, significant, substantial a big fall in house prices This triggered the recent dramatic falls on the Tokyo stock exchange. | modest, slight, small | steady | rapid, sharp, steep, sudden, swift | expected, projected a projected fall of 2% | unexpected | continuing, further | overall | catastrophic VERB + FALL bring, cause, contribute to, lead to, trigger | see, suffer Share prices suffered a slight fall yesterday. | record, reveal, show The opinion polls show a significant fall in her popularity. | report Both companies reported a fall in profits in the first quarter of this year. | represent This figure represents a fall of 21% on the same period last year. FALL + VERB occur The fall in age at first marriage occurred during the second half of the 18th century. PREP. ~ in a large fall in share prices defeat VERB + FALL bring about, cause, contribute to, lead to the actions that led to his eventual fall from power PREP. ~ from PHRASES the rise and fall of sth a book charting the rise and fall of the Habsburg Empire
Oxford Collocations Dictionary