10 Phrasal Verbs With the Verb "Fall"

The verb "fall" by itself is used in many different ways, such as:

• when something suddenly goes down onto the ground by accident (Example: I broke my ankle when I fell from the tree.)
• to describe a decrease in size, amount, or strength (Example: The forecast said that temperatures could fall below -20 degrees tonight.)
• to belong to a particular group, subject, area or type of things (Example: Our products fall into three broad categories.)

​So you can imagine that this verb gets even more complicated when paired with a variety of particles and used as a phrasal verb such as in the examples below.

1. Fall apart: To disintegrate or break into pieces.

• Example: "The old train eventually fell apart after it was left to the elements."

This phrasal verb can also be used figuratively to describe when people break down or lose control of their emotions.

• Example:  "She fell apart after the doctor told her that the patient will never be able to recover."
• The band Sugar Ray has a song from around 1999 titled "Falls Apart" that goes: "She falls apart / By herself / No one there to talk or understand"

2. Fall down: To collapse or fall to the ground.

• Example: "He tripped and fell down the stairs."
• "The picture frame fell down and broke because the cat pushed it over the edge."  

3. Fall for: To be deceived or tricked by someone or something.

• ​Example: "She fell for his charming words."
• Don't fall for that "special-price-today-only" trick of their sales people.

4. Fall in: To collapse inward or cave in.

• Example: "The roof of the old stadium fell in after a night of heavy snow."
• Thankfully, no one was in the building when the ceiling fell in. 

5. Fall off: To decrease in quantity or quality.

• Example: "Sales really fell off during the pandemic, but we seem to be on the way to recovering this year."

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6. Fall out: To have a disagreement or argument with someone which ends the relationship.

• Example: "They fell out over a misunderstanding about who should pay for the event."
• "He had a falling out with his parents over his choice to study Biology. His parents had wanted him to study Law."

7. Fall over: To lose balance and tip or roll over.

• Example: "The sculpture fell over and shattered."

8. Fall through: To fail to happen or materialize as planned.

• Example: "Our vacation plans to California fell through after we heard about the wildfires."
• "The deal fell through when the vendor changed his mind and increased the price by 30%."

9. Fall under: To be categorized or included in a particular group or classification.

• Example: "These products fall under the luxury category."

10. Fall back on: To resort to something as a backup or alternative plan.

• Examples: "When his first idea failed, he had to fall back on his second plan."
• "Experts advice that we should always have emergency funds to fall back on in case we suddenly lose our jobs."