Meaning & use
befall
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformalliterary
To happen to someone, usually as a misfortune that they could not control.
Grammar: The unlucky event is the subject and the person is the object: disaster befell the crew.
Patterns
- something befalls someone
- whatever befalls someone
A terrible storm befell the village that night.
No one knew what fate would befall the lost expedition.
She feared that some harm might befall her children.
verbintransitivearchaicliterary
To happen or take place, said of an event.
Grammar: Archaic, with no object; it is mostly found in old stories and poems.
Patterns
- so it befell that
So it befell that the king rode out alone.
It befell one winter that the river froze solid.
And thus it befell, as the old tale tells.
Word forms
| third person singular | befalls |
|---|---|
| past tense | befell |
| past participle | befallen |
| -ing form | befalling |
Common combinations
- misfortune befalls
- Misfortune befell the family just after the harvest.
- befall someone
- A sad fate befell the explorer.
- whatever may befall
- Whatever may befall us, we will stay together.
- fate befalls
- The same fate befell the next ship.
- disaster befell
- Disaster befell the town when the dam broke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- happen to
- Happen to is the everyday version and can describe good or bad events, while befall nearly always suggests bad luck.
- occur
- Occur is neutral and focuses on the event taking place, not on whom it affects.
- overtake
- Overtake suggests that something unpleasant comes upon you suddenly, such as darkness or a storm.
- betide
- Betide is an older literary word, as in woe betide you, and is much rarer than befall.
Word family
- fall verb
- the plain verb from which befall is built, meaning to drop down
Commonly confused: befall or befall vs. fall?
befall vs befall vs. fall
Fall means to drop down. Befall is a separate, formal verb meaning to happen to someone, with a misfortune as the subject.
Practice
Which sentence uses befall correctly?
Choose one answer.
Befall takes an unfortunate event as its subject and a person or place as its object. The other options misuse it as a movement or linking verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “befall”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.