◙ (past fell ; past participle fallen ), [no obj., with adverbial] 1. move downwards, typically rapidly and freely without control, from a higher to a lower level • （尤指迅速、不受控地）下落，下降 »bombs could be seen falling from the planes. 可以看见炸弹从飞机上急速坠落。 »[as adj. falling] the power lines had been brought down by falling trees. 倒下的树压倒了电线。 (fall off)become detached accidentally and drop to the ground • 意外地脱落在地 »my sunglasses fell off and broke on the pavement. 我的太阳镜突然掉到人行道上摔坏了。 hang down • 垂挂 »hair that was allowed to fall to the shoulders. 垂肩的头发。 (of land) slope downwards; drop away • （地面）下倾；下斜 »the land fell away in a steep bank. 地面下倾形成陡峭的河岸。 (fall into)(of a river) flow or discharge itself into • （河流）流向；注入 [no obj.] (of someone's eyes or glance) be directed downwards • （目光，视线）向下看，垂下 [no obj.] (of someone's face) show dismay or disappointment by appearing to sag or droop • （脸）沉下来，变阴沉（以示沮丧或失望） »her face fell as she thought about her life with George. 想到她和乔治的生活，她的脸沉了下来。 (figurative)occur, arrive, or become apparent as if by dropping suddenly • [喻] 蓦然发生；骤然降临；突然显现 »when night fell we managed to crawl back to our lines. 夜幕降临时，我们终于潜回我方阵地。 »the information might fall into the wrong hands. 情报有可能落入不该知道的人手中。 2. (of a person) lose one's balance and collapse • （人）摔倒 »she fell down at school today. 她今天在学校摔了一跤。 throw oneself down, typically in order to worship or implore someone • （尤指为祈祷或恳求某人而）下跪 »they fell on their knees, rendering thanks to God. 他们双膝下跪，向上帝表示感激之情。 (of a tree, building, or other structure) collapse to the ground • （树、建筑物或其他结构）垮塌，倒下 »the house looked as if it were going to fall down at any moment. 房子看上去随时有可能倒塌。 (of a building or place) be captured or defeated • （建筑物，地方）沦陷；被攻陷（或占领） »their mountain strongholds fell to enemy attack. 他们的山区要塞被敌人攻破了。 die in battle • 战死，阵亡 »an English leader who had fallen at the hands of the Danes. 战死在丹麦人手下的英国将领。 [no obj.] (archaic)commit sin; yield to temptation • [古] 堕落；受诱惑 »it is their husbands' fault if wives do fall. 如果妻子真的堕落，那是丈夫的错。 [no obj.] (of a government or leader) lose office • （政府，领导人）垮台，下台，失去地位 [Cricket] (of a wicket) be taken by the bowling side • [板球] （三柱门）被投中 (fall over)[informal] (of computer hardware or software) stop working suddenly;crash • [非正式] （电脑硬件或软件）突然出错；坏死 3. decrease in number, amount, intensity, or quality • 减少；下降；减弱 »in 1987 imports into Britain fell by 12 per cent. 1987年英国进口额降低了12%。 »we're worried that standards are falling. 我们担心标准在降低。 find a lower level; subside or abate • 降低；减少；减轻 »the water table in the Rift Valley fell. 东非大裂谷的地下水位下降了。 (of a measuring instrument) show a lower reading • （测量仪）读数下降 »the barometer had fallen a further ten points. 气压表读数又下降了十点。 (fall away)(in sport) play less well; lose form • （体育用语）表现较差；发挥失常；技术走形 4. pass into a specified state • 变得 »many of the buildings fell into disrepair. 那些建筑物有多幢被损失修。 »[with complement] she fell pregnant. 她怀孕了。 (fall to doing something)begin to do something • 开始做 »he fell to musing about how it had happened. 他开始思考这事是怎么发生的。 be drawn accidentally into • 偶然陷入；意外产生 »you must not fall into this common error. 你千万不要犯这种常见错误。 occur at a specified time • （在一特定时间）发生 »Mother's birthday fell on May Day. 妈妈的生日正巧是五一节。 be classified or ordered in the way specified • （按某一特定方式）被归类；被排列 »canals fall within the Minister's brief. 运河都归该大臣管辖。 ◙ noun 1. [usu. in sing.] an act of falling or collapsing; a sudden uncontrollable descent • 落下，跌落；垮塌；跌倒 »his mother had a fall, hurting her leg as she alighted from a train. 他妈妈下火车时摔了一跤，跌伤了腿。 a controlled act of falling, especially as a stunt or in martial arts • （尤指特技或武术中的）跟斗；飞身下跳 [Wrestling] a move which pins the opponent's shoulders on the ground for a count of three • [摔跤] 得分动作（将对手肩膀按在地上等裁判数三下） a state of hanging or drooping downwards • 悬挂；垂落；下垂 » the fall of her hair. 她秀发的垂落。 a downward difference in height between parts of a surface • 落差 »at the corner of the massif this fall is interrupted by other heights of considerable stature. 其他那些高度可观的山峰使落差在山体的这一角落不那么明显。 a sudden onset or arrival as if by dropping • （蓦然）降临，来临 »the fall of darkness. 暮色骤降。 2. a thing which falls or has fallen • 降落物；下降物 »in October came the first thin fall of snow. 10月小雪初飘。 »a rock fall. 滚落的石块。 [一般作. falls] a waterfall or cascade • 瀑布 (chiefly poetic/literary)a downward turn in a melody • [主诗/文] 降调 »that strain again, it had a dying fall. 又是那旋律，它的结尾是降调。 (falls)the parts or petals of a flower which bend downwards, especially the outer perianth segments of an iris • 下垂的花瓣；花体的下垂部分（尤指鸢尾的外花被） 3. a decrease in size, number, rate, or level; a decline • 下降；衰退 »a big fall in unemployment. 失业率的大幅度下降。 4. a loss of office • 卸任；下台 »the fall of the government. 政府的垮台。 the loss of a city or fortified place during battle • （战争中城市或要塞的）失守，沦陷 » the fall of Jerusalem. 耶路撒冷的沦陷。 a person's moral descent, typically by succumbing to temptation • 道德沦丧，堕落（尤指受诱惑所致） (the Fall 或 the Fall of Man)the lapse of humankind into a state of sin, ascribed in traditional Jewish and Christian theology to the disobedience of Adam and Eve as described in Genesis • 人类的堕落（传统犹太教和基督教神学将此归咎于亚当和夏娃的叛逆，《创世纪》中有此描述） 5. (也作 Fall)[N. Amer.] autumn • [北美] 秋天
【IDIOMS】
◘ fall between two stools --› seestool ◘ fall foul (或主北美 1. come into conflict with and be undermined by • 与…冲突；遭…破坏 »any commitment of resources is likely to fall foul of government cash limitations. 任何财力投入都可能与政府现金管制有矛盾。 ◘ fall in (或 into) line 1. conform with others or with accepted behaviour • 与他人一致；符合行为规范 ◘ fall in (或 out of) love (with someone) --› seelove ◘ fall into place 1. (of a series of events or facts) begin to make sense or cohere • （一系列事件或事实）开始明晰（或衔接）起来 »once he knew what to look for, the theory fell quickly into place. 一旦他明白要找的东西，这理论很快就派上用场了。 ◘ fall on stony ground --› seestony ◘ fall over oneself to do something 1. [informal] be excessively eager to do something • [非正式] 极想做某事 »critics and audiences fell over themselves to compliment him. 评论家和观众趋之若鹜地恭维他。 ◘ fall prey to --› seeprey ◘ fall short (of) 1. (of a missile) fail to reach its target • （导弹）未击中目标 (figurative)be deficient or inadequate; fail to reach a required goal • [喻] 缺乏，不足；未达到既定目标 »the total vote fell short of the required two-thirds majority. 总票数没达到要求的2/3多数。 ◘ fall to pieces 1. 见下面 fall apart ◘ fall victim to --› seevictim ◘ take the fall 1. [N. Amer. informal] receive blame or punishment, typically in the place of another person • [北美，非正式] 代人受过；当替罪羊
【语源】
1. Old English fallan, feallan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vallen and German fallen; the noun is partly from the verb, partly from Old Norse fall 'downfall, sin'
【PHR V】
◘ fall about 1. [Brit. informal] laugh uncontrollably • [英，非正式] 抑制不住地大笑 ◘ fall apart (或 to pieces) 1. break up, come apart, or disintegrate • 结束；分裂；解体；崩溃 »their marriage is likely to fall apart. 他们的婚姻有可能破裂。 (of a person) lose one's capacity to cope • （人）丧失应付能力，垮掉 »Angie fell to pieces because she had lost everything. 安吉全垮了，因为她失去了一切。 ◘ fall back 1. move or turn back;retreat • 后退；倒退 ◘ fall back on 1. have recourse to when in difficulty • （困难时）求助于；依靠 »they normally fell back on one of three arguments. 他们通常借助三个论据之一。 ◘ fall behind 1. fail to keep level with one's competitors • 落后（于对手） fail to meet a commitment to make a regular payment • 拖欠定期还款 »borrowers falling behind with their mortgage repayments. 拖欠按揭还款的借款人。 ◘ fall down 1. be shown to be inadequate or false;fail • 表现不足（或有误）；失败 »the deal fell down partly because there were a lot of unanswered questions. 交易失败，部分原因是有太多没有解答的问题。 ◘ fall for [informal 非正式] 1. be captivated by; fall in love with • 被…迷住；爱上 2. be deceived by (something) • 被（某事）欺骗 »he should have known better than to expect Duncan to fall for a cheap trick like that. 他早该知道不该以为邓肯会被那种低劣的伎俩欺骗。 ◘ fall in 1. take one's place in a military formation • （在军事队列中）站队；集合 »the soldiers fell in by the side of the road. 士兵们在路边站队集合。 2. (of a structure) collapse inwards • （建筑物）向里坍塌 ◘ fall in with 1. meet by chance and become involved with • 碰巧搭结 »he fell in with thieves. 他碰到并搭上了几个小偷。 2. act in accordance with (someone's ideas or suggestions); agree to • 按（某人的意见或建议）行事；同意 »falling in with other people's views. 同意其他人的意见。 ◘ fall on (或 upon) 1. attack fiercely or unexpectedly • 猛攻；突袭 »the army fell on the besiegers. 部队对围攻的敌军发动了猛烈攻击。 seize enthusiastically • 急切地抓住 »she fell on the sandwiches as though she had not eaten in weeks. 她迫不及待地抓起三明治，就像饿了几周一样。 2. (of someone's eyes or gaze) be directed towards • （视线，目光）投向 »her gaze fell on the mud-stained coverlet. 她的目光落在溅满泥浆的床罩上。 3. (of a burden or duty) be borne or incurred by • （负担，责任）由…承担（或引起） »the cost of tuition should not fall on the student. 学费不应由学生来承担。 ◘ fall out 1. (of the hair, teeth, etc.) become detached and drop out • （头发、牙齿等）脱落 2. have an argument • 争吵；失合 »he had fallen out with his family. 他与家人闹翻了。 3. leave one's place in a military formation, or on parade • 掉队 »the two policemen at the rear fell out of the formation. 走在最后的两个警察掉队了。 4. happen; turn out • 发生；结果 »matters fell out as Stephen arranged. 事情像史蒂芬安排的那样发生了。 ◘ fall through 1. come to nothing;fail • 一无所成；失败 »the project fell through due to lack of money. 由于缺少资金，项目失败了。 ◘ fall to 1. (of a task) become the duty or responsibility of • （任务）由…负责；落到…肩上 »it fell to me to write to Shephard. 由我负责写信给谢泼德。 (of property) revert to the ownership of • （财产）归还给