Meaning & use

fall down

phrase·Everyday

To drop suddenly to the ground from a standing position, or to fail to meet an expected standard.

See it in a sentence

The toddler kept trying to walk, only to fall down every few steps.

The plan looked good on paper, but it fell down when it came to actually raising the money.

A note on using this word

The literal sense describes physical collapse, while the figurative sense, as in 'the argument falls down on one point', describes a flaw in reasoning or execution.

Words with a similar meaning

collapsetopple

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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