fell down

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Past tense of fall down: dropped to the ground, usually by accident, after losing balance or support.

   Grammar: No object; use fell down as the past of fall down, never falled down.

   Patterns

   • fell down
   • fell down the stairs
   • fell down in the street

   He slipped on the ice and fell down.

   The child fell down but got up laughing.

2. 2verbidiominformal

   Past tense of the idiom fall down on: failed to do a duty or part of something properly.

   Grammar: Requires on after down in this sense: fell down on the job, not simply fell down the job.

   Patterns

   • fell down on something
   • fell down on the job
   • fell down on a promise

   The courier fell down on the most basic part of the job.

   She admitted the agency fell down on communication during the crisis.

Word forms

Common combinations

fell down the stairs

She fell down the stairs and bruised her elbow.

fell down in public

He was embarrassed after he fell down in public.

fell down on the job

The inspector said the crew fell down on the job.

nearly fell down

The ladder shook, and I nearly fell down.

Synonyms and how they differ

collapsed

Collapsed can mean fell down suddenly or gave way, often for structures or bodies; fell down is more everyday.

tumbled

Tumbled suggests rolling or awkward falling, while fell down is neutral.

failed

For fell down on the job, failed is the direct everyday verb without the idiomatic on pattern.

Opposites

Word family

fall verb

Base verb meaning move downward or drop.

falling adjective

Dropping or decreasing, as in falling prices.

fallen adjective

Having dropped or been defeated, as in fallen leaves.

Commonly confused: fell down or feel down?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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