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false alarm
quarrel, fight, or get into trouble with: His business methods were not entirely honest, and he soon fell foul of the law. (=got into trouble with the police) 19 fall off one's chair to be very surprised: I nearly fell off my chair when I heard the news. 20 fall on deaf ears (of advice, warnings, requests etc) to be ignored or paid no attention 21 fall/land on one's feet infml to be successful or fortunate, especially after being in a difficult situation; have good luck 22 fall short (of) to fail to reach (a desired result, standard etc): The council planned to build 100 houses this year but they have fallen short of their target. → see also let fall (LET¹)
PHRASAL VERBS
fall about phr v [I] BrE infml to lose control of oneself (with laughter): They fell about (laughing/with laughter) when she dropped all the eggs.
fall back phr v [I] to move or turn back, especially because someone is attacking or moving towards one: The crowd fell back to let the policemen through.
fall back on/upon sthg. phr v [T no pass.] to use when there is failure or lack of other means; RESORT to: When I lost my job I was glad I had my savings to fall back on.
fall behind phr v 1 [i;T(= fall behind sbdy./sthg.) no pass.] to become gradually further behind: We can't afford to fall behind our competitors in using new technology. 2 [l(with)] to fail to produce something at the proper time: I'm falling behind with my work. I must try to catch up. | If you fall behind with the rent you may be thrown out.
fall down phr v [l(on)] infml to fail or be ineffective: The plan falls down in not allowing enough time for delays. | You've been falling down on the job recently. Is there anything wrong?
fall for sthg./sbdy. phr v [T] 1 to be deceived by: Don't fall for his tricks. 2 infml to fall in love with, especially suddenly: She fell for him in a big way.
fall in phr v [l;T(= fall sbdy. ⇔ in)] to (cause to) take one's proper place in a military formation: Fall in, men! | The captain fell the soldiers in for inspection.
fall into sthg. phr v [T] 1 to begin or have by chance: I fell into conversation with someone who said he knew you. 2 to be divided into: This topic falls naturally into three sections.
fall in with sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] 1 BrE to agree with or to: I'm quite happy to fall in with you/with your suggestion. 2 to meet or begin to mix socially with: Her son fell in with a bad crowd.
fall off phr v [I] to become less in quality, amount etc: The demand for new cars has fallen off sharply in the last 12 months.
fall on/upon sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] 1 to attack eagerly: The soldiers fell on the enemy. | (fig.) The hungry children fell on the food. 2 fall on hard times to lose one's money and social position
fall out phr v 1 [l(with)] to quarrel: Jane and Paul have fallen out (with each other) over the education of their children. 2 [i;T(= fall sbdy. ⇔ out)] to (cause to) leave one's place in a military formation: Fall out, men! | The sergeant fell the squad out. 3 [+adv] to happen: Let's wait and see how everything falls out. | As things fell out, we were right to be suspicious.
fall through phr v [l] to fail to be successfully completed: The deal fell through at the last minute.
fall to phr v 1 [l;T(= fall to sthg.)] to begin: The meal's all ready, kids. Fall to! | They fell to work with a will. | [+v-ing] He fell to thinking about the early days and his lost friends. 2 [T(= fall to sbdy.)] to be the (especially unpleasant) duty of: It fell to me to break the bad news to her.
fall² n 1 [C(from)] an act of falling: She had a bad fall and broke her hip. | He fell off the ladder, but some bushes broke his fall. (=prevented him from falling very hard) → see RISE² (USAGE) 2 [C(of)] (the quantity of) something that has fallen: A fall of rocks blocked the road. | We had a heavy fall of snow. 3 [C/in]) a decrease in quantity, price, demand, degree etc: We have not sold our goods because of the fall in demand. | a sudden fall in temperature | another fall in the value of the dollar → opposite RISE 4 [S(of)] the distance through which anything falls: It's a fall of 70 metres to the foot of the cliff. 5 [the+S (of)] the defeat or loss of power of a city, state, government etc: The fall of France occurred in 1940. | the fall of the Marcos regime in 1986 6 [S(from)] (sometimes cap.) a change from a life of goodness, honesty etc to one of immorality: a fall from grace. 7 [(the) S] AmE for AUTUMN → see also FALLS
Fall, the n [S] the story in the Bible that tells how Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, disobeyed God. According to the story, God forbids Adam and Eve from eating the fruit (sometimes called 'the apple') on the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. The SERPENT (=snake) persuades Eve to taste the fruit, and then Eve gives the fruit to Adam to eat. They are ashamed of disobeying God and wear FIG leaves because they are also now ashamed of having no clothes on. When they tell God that they have eaten the fruit he sends them out of the Garden of Eden. This story is supposed to describe the way that human beings first learnt about the difference between good and evil.
fal-la-cious /fəˈleɪʃəs/ adj fml containing or based on false reasoning: a fallacious argument —ly adv
fal-la-cy /ˈfæləsi/ n 1 [C] a false idea or belief: It's a popular fallacy that success always brings happiness. 2 [C,U] fml false reasoning: I was able to show the fallacy of his argument. → see also PATHETIC FALLACY
fall-back /ˈfɔːlbæk/ n something that can be used when the usual supply, method, activity etc fails: If he doesn't show up for work we've got no fallback. | What's the fallback when the engine fails?
fall·en¹ /ˈfɔːlən/ past participle of FALL: The road was blocked by a fallen tree.
fallen² n [the+P] fml those soldiers who have been killed in battle or war
fallen³ adj old-fash (of a woman) sexually immoral
fallen 'arches n the hollow parts on the bottom of the feet when these have become flat: I've got fallen arches.
'fall guy n infml, especially AmE 1 a person who is tricked into being punished for someone else's crime; SCAPEGOAT 2 a person who is easily cheated, tricked, or made to seem a fool
fal-li-ble /ˈfælɪʃbəl/ adj able or likely to make a mistake or be wrong → opposite INFALLIBLE —bility /ˌfælɪˈbɪlɪti/ n [U]
falling-'out n pl. fallings-out or fallings-outs a disagreement that may lead to a break in relations: He had a falling-out with his sister over their parents' estate.
falling 'star n a SHOOTING STAR
'fall line n the natural slope of a hill (e.g. one used for skiing (SKI)) straight down from top to bottom
'fall-off also falling-'off BrE — n [S (in)] a decrease in the level, amount, or number of something; FALL: a fall-off in profits → opposite RISE
fal-lo-pi-an tube /fəˈləʊpiən ˌtjuːb-ɪ-,tuːb/ n either of the two tubes in a female through which eggs pass to the WOMB (=place inside a woman where a child grows)
fall-out /ˈfɔːlaʊt/ n [U] the dangerous RADIOACTIVE dust that is left in the air after a NUCLEAR explosion: He built a fallout shelter (=strong building to keep out fallout) in his garden.
fal-low /ˈfæləʊ/ adj (of land) dug or ploughed (PLOUGH) but left unplanted to improve its quality: The farmer left the land fallow for a year.
'fallow deer n a small deer of Europe and Asia with a light brownish-yellow coat
falls /fɔːlz/ n [P] (used especially in names) a place where a river makes a sudden deep drop; WATERFALL: Niagara Falls
Falls 'Road, the a street in the Roman Catholic part of BELFAST in NORTHERN IRELAND, known for the fighting and violence that has taken place there, especially between the late 1960s and the beginning of the PEACE PROCESS (=attempts to stop violence between Roman Catholics and Protestants) in the early 1990s → compare SHANKHILL ROAD; see also NORTHERN IRELAND
false¹ /fɔːls/ adj 1 not true or correct: If you've made a false statement to the police you could be in trouble. | They lulled her into a false sense of security. (=made her feel safe when really she was not) | The criminal was travelling on a false passport. 2 not faithful or loyal: a false friend 3 not real: a false door (=that looks like a door but does not open) | The clown wore a false nose. 4 [A] careless; unwise: If you make one false move I'll shoot you! —ly adv —ness n [U]
false² adv play someone false to deceive someone, especially in love
false a'larm n a warning of something bad which does not happen: Someone shouted 'Fire!', but it was a false alarm.