foot falls

Meanings

1. 1phraseplural

   The sound or act of a foot coming down on the ground, especially when someone walks.

   Grammar: Often written as one word, 'footfalls'; as two words it reads as 'foot' plus the verb 'falls'.

   Patterns

   • hear foot falls
   • the foot falls of someone

   She heard soft foot falls behind her on the stairs.

   The foot falls of the guards echoed down the corridor.

   He stopped walking and listened, but there were no more foot falls.

2. 2verbintransitive

   A foot moves downward, as when a person walks or something drops.

   Grammar: Here 'foot' is the subject and 'falls' the verb; the two words are not a fixed phrase.

   Patterns

   • a foot falls on something
   • the foot falls

   With each step, one foot falls and then the other.

   The dancer's foot falls lightly on the wooden floor.

   If a foot falls on the wrong spot, the whole jump goes wrong.

Common combinations

soft foot falls

I could hear soft foot falls outside my door.

hear foot falls

He turned around when he heard foot falls.

the sound of foot falls

The sound of foot falls grew louder as they came closer.

Synonyms and how they differ

footsteps

The usual everyday word for the sound or mark of walking feet; 'footfalls' sounds more literary.

tread

A formal or literary word for the way someone steps; it can also mean the sound itself.

Word family

footfall noun

The singular form, meaning one step or its sound.

foot noun

The body part at the end of the leg that you stand on.

fall verb

To move downward suddenly or by gravity.

Commonly confused: foot falls or footfall? foot falls or waterfall?

Practice

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

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