fall short

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   to be less than what is needed, expected, or aimed for.

   Grammar: No object; usually followed by 'of' before the thing that is not reached: fall short of the target.

   Patterns

   • fall short of something
   • fall short of expectations
   • fall short of a goal
   • fall short by an amount

   The team fell short of the championship by one point.

   Sales fell short of our expectations this quarter.

   We tried hard, but we fell short of the required standard.

2. 2verbintransitive

   to not reach a place or level; to stop before getting there.

   Grammar: Often used with 'of' or with a distance: fall short of the finish line.

   Patterns

   • fall short of something
   • fall short by a distance

   The arrow fell short of the target.

   The ball fell short of the green.

   We fell short by just a few meters.

Word forms

Common combinations

fall short of expectations

The movie fell short of expectations at the box office.

fall short of a goal

She fell short of her goal of running a marathon.

fall short of the mark

His performance fell short of the mark.

fall far short

The results fell far short of what we had hoped.

fall short by a small amount

We fell short by only two votes.

Synonyms and how they differ

miss

Use 'miss' when you fail to hit or reach something physically or a target; 'fall short' often suggests a standard or expectation.

fail

'Fail' is stronger and more general; 'fall short' is milder and often used for near misses.

come up short

This is a synonym but more informal and often used in sports or business.

Opposites

Commonly confused: fall short or fall short of?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fall short”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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