fall
(=trip, accident) chute f
→ The helmets are designed to withstand impacts equivalent to a fall from a bicycle.
to have a fall faire une chute
→ Mrs Briscoe had a bad fall last week.
She had a nasty fall. Elle a fait une mauvaise chute.
(=decrease) (in prices, profits, output, productivity)
baisse f
a fall in sth [+prices, profits, output, productivity] une baisse de qch
→ a sharp fall in the value of the pound
→ ... a 3 per cent fall in industrial output
a fall in value une dépréciation
a fall of 10% une baisse de 10%
→ The price was down to 36 cents - a fall of 21 percent since February
(=collapse)
[+government, regime, leader] chute f
→ Following the fall of the military dictator in March, the country has had a civilian government ...
→ a debate which led to the Government's fall
→ ... the fall of Rome
the fall of communism la chute du communisme
(US)
(=autumn) automne m
→ The Supreme Court will not hear the case until next fall.
in the fall of 2003 en automne 2003
a fall of snow (British) une chute de neige
→ A heavy fall of snow last night has blocked many minor roads ...
falls
npl
(=waterfall) chute f d'eau, cascade f
→
Niagra Falls
vi ( fell pt) ( fallen pp )
(=topple down)
[person, object] tomber
→ Her father fell into the sea.
→ She gripped his shoulders to stop herself from falling.
[building] s'écrouler, s'effondrer
→ We watched buildings fall on top of people
He tripped and fell. Il a trébuché et il est tombé.
to fall flat on one's face
[person] tomber de tout son long, s'étaler de tout son long
to fall flat
[joke] tomber à plat
→ Liz meant it as a joke but it fell flat
[plan] échouer, tomber à l'eau
(=come down)
[snow, rain] tomber
→ An inch of rain fell within 15 minutes.
[bomb] tomber
→ Bombs fell in the town.
to fall to bits, to fall to pieces
[object] tomber en morceaux
[building] tomber en ruine
[person] craquer
(=drop, decrease)
[prices, profits, value, currency, output, productivity] baisser
→ Oil prices fell by 0.2 per cent.
→ The Euro is still falling
Prices are falling. Les prix baissent.
(=collapse, be unsuccessful)
[government, regime, leader] tomber , (militarily)
[city, country] tomber
→ French Canada fell to the British in 1763
to fall from power être destitué (e)
→ The prime minister fell from power.
→ The moment Mrs Thatcher fell from power has left a lasting imprint on the world's memory.
to fall short of [+sb's expectations] ne pas répondre à
[+requirements] ne pas correspondre à
(=descend)
[darkness, shadow] tomber
→ as darkness fell
→ As darkness fell outside, they sat down to eat at long tables.
→ A shadow fell over her book.
→ the shadow that suddenly fell across the doorway
[silence] tomber
→ Silence fell on the passengers as the police checked identity cards.
→ A hush would fall among the villagers as they sat around the fire.
(=occur) tomber
to fall on a Tuesday tomber un mardi
→ May 4 falls on a Tuesday this year
→ The meeting always falls on the second Sunday of the month
Christmas falls on a Sunday. Noël tombe un dimanche.
(=become)
to fall ill tomber malade
to fall pregnant tomber enceinte
to fall victim to sb/sth être victime de qch/qch
→ These women fall victim to exploitation
to fall in love tomber amoureux (-euse)
→ We fell madly in love
→ I think I'm falling in love!
to fall in love with sb tomber amoureux (-euse) de qn
→ I fell in love with him because of his kind nature
(=be incumbent) to fall to sb
[responsibility, duty] incomber à qn to fall to sb to do sth incomber à qn de faire qch, revenir à qn de faire qch → It fell to me to get rid of them.
▲
fall apart
vi
[object, building] tomber en morceaux
→ Bit by bit the building fell apart
[system] s'écrouler, s'effondrer
→ Europe's monetary system is falling apart
[person] (emotionally)
craquer
→ I was falling apart. I wasn't getting any sleep.
▲
fall away
vi
[ground] descendre en pente
→ Below her the ground fell away in a broad sweep down to the river
→ On either side of the tracks the ground fell away sharply
(=decrease)
[support, demand] diminuer
→ as his support fell away, his taste for dictatorial methods grew
→ hundreds of jobs were lost as demand fell away
▲
fall back
vi
[army, soldiers] se replier
→ The Prussian garrison at Charleroi was falling back.
▲
fall back into
vt fus
[+routine, old habits] retomber dans
→ He'd promise to be better. But he'd soon fall back into his old ways
→ he believed the economy was unlikely to fall back into recession
▲
fall back on
vt fus se rabattre sur
→ the Prime Minister will be able to fall back on his veto to ensure that the measure is not passed
→ He fell back on his favourite trick: quoting himself
→ Unable to defeat him by logical discussion, she fell back on her old habit of criticizing his speech
to have something to fall back on (money)
avoir quelque chose en réserve
(job)
avoir une solution de rechange
→ If everything goes wrong, at least I have a job to fall back on
▲
fall behind
vi
[pupil] prendre du retard
→ He missed school and fell behind
[country] prendre du retard
→ Britain fell behind in terms of productivity by 10 to 15 percent
[athlete] (in competition)
se faire distancer
→ They fell behind in the 32nd minute to a goal from Owen
to fall behind with one's payments prendre du retard dans ses paiements
→ He faces losing his home after falling behind with the payments ...
vt fus
[+fellow pupils] se faire distancer par
[+competitors] (in race)
se faire distancer par, (in business)
se faire distancer par
→ Germany was falling behind the rest of Europe
→ Britain has fallen behind other countries in health care
▲
fall down
vi
[person] tomber
→ I hit him so hard he fell down.
She fell down. Elle est tombée.
[building] s'effondrer, s'écrouler
→ Children jumped from upper floors as the building fell down around them.
The house is slowly falling down. La maison est en train de s'écrouler., La maison est en train de s'effondrer.
▲
fall for
vt fus
[+trick] se laisser prendre à
→ It was just a line to get you out here, and you fell for it!
→ Voters and businessmen alike fell for this propaganda
They fell for it. Ils s'y sont laissé prendre., Ils se sont vraiment fait avoir.
[+person] tomber amoureux (-euse) de
→ I just fell for him right away
She's falling for him. Elle est en train de tomber amoureuse de lui.
▲
fall in
vi
(=collapse)
[roof] s'effondrer
→ Part of my bedroom ceiling has fallen in; I sleep downstairs.
[soldiers] former les rangs
→ Prentice saw Goss fall in behind the informer.
▲
fall into
vt fus
(=be part of)
[+category, group] appartenir à
→ Both women fall into the highest-risk group
Which group do you fall into? À quel groupe appartenez-vous?
▲
fall in with
vt fus
(=go along with)
[+sb's plans] accepter
→ Carmen's reluctance to fall in with Driver's plans led to trouble.
▲
fall off
(=come off)
[person, object] tomber
→ When your exhaust falls off, you have to replace it
(=diminish, decrease)
[demand, support] baisser, diminuer
→ Unemployment is rising again and retail buying has fallen off.
vt fus
[+shelf, cliff, horse] tomber de
The book fell off the shelf. Le livre est tombé de l'étagère.
▲
fall on
vt fus
his eyes fell on ...
(=he noticed) son regard tomba sur ...
→ As he laid the flowers on the table, his eye fell upon a note in Grace's handwriting.
(=attack)
[+enemy] fondre sur
▲
fall open
vi
[book] s'ouvrir
→ The book had fallen open at page 73
[dress, robe] s'entrebâiller
▲
fall out
vi
[friends] se brouiller
→ Mum and I used to fall out a lot
to fall out with somebody se brouiller avec quelqu'un
→ I've fallen out with certain members of the band ...
[hair] tomber
→ Her hair started falling out as a result of radiation treatment.
▲
fall over
vi
(=fall down) tomber
→ If he drinks more than two glasses of wine he falls over.
He tripped and fell over. Il a trébuché et il est tombé.
to fall over o.s. to do sth * se mettre en quatre pour faire qch
→ He was falling over himself to be helpful
▲
fall through
vi
[plan, project] tomber à l'eau
[deal, sale] échouer
→ My house sale is just on the verge of falling through
→ A major business deal fell through, leaving him penniless
Our plans have fallen through. Nos projets sont tombés à l'eau.
fall guy *
n
(=scapegoat) bouc m émissaire
to be the fall guy for sth être le bouc émissaire de qch
→ He claims he was made the fall guy for the affair.
free fall
n
(fig)
to go into free fall
(=plummet)
[price, value] être en chute libre
→ Sterling went into free fall ...
rock fall
n chute f de pierres