fall down

1. To drop or fall from a particular place or height. Lucy fell down at the playground and scraped her knee. One of the picture frames fell down last night—that was the noise you heard. A: "What was that?" B: "Sounds like something fell down in the closet."

2. To fail to do something adequately or as expected. Often used in the phrase "fall down on the job." He's a really bright young man, but time management is one area where he really tends to fall down. Jeez, what a glaring mistake. It looks like someone fell down on the job. It was the government's duty to make sure their citizens were protected from a financial disaster like this, but they've fallen down on the job.

See also: down, fall

fall down

to drop or topple. The baby fell down. Walk carefully on this ice or you will fall down.

See also: down, fall

fall down

Fail to meet expectations; lag in performance. For example, It was disappointing to see him fall down on the job. This expression transfers a literal drop to a figurative one. [Second half of 1800s]

See also: down, fall

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fall down

To drop or tip over: I slipped on the ice and fell down the steps. A lot of trees fell down during the hurricane.

See also: down, fall

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References in periodicals archive

He confessed that he kicked his face and caused him to fall down and bleed.

Student loses tooth after assault at Rugby match, court hears

We All Fall Down received quiet, but critically appreciative attention at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.

We all fall down: Martin Cummins and the spirit of independence

Fall Down, Laughing is not your usual "I have MS" book.

FALL DOWN, LAUGHING

"I'm taking my dog for a walk when suddenly I fall down a cave and I'm saved by the man of my dreams who I was hoping might ask me out before I fell down the cave," she said.

Connie takes the lead in Casualty

He said the injuries were consistent with a fall down the stairs.

Open verdict over fall dad

The examination found that the injuries the child suffered were not consistent with a fall down the stairs, police said.

Couple quizzed in toddler death

Gerard Connor died from hypothermia after suffering serious head injuries in the fall down the concrete stairs, which led to his first-floor flat in Hewitt Avenue, Radford.

Man died after fall down stairs

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the Westminster coroner Dr Paul Knapman said: "The steps are a perfectly ordinary set of steps - steps that can be seen in many areas of London, and which, from time to time, people do fall down.

Last Champagne celebration of Derek Nimmo

A MAN who grabbed a four-year-old boy by the scruff of his neck as he cried for his mother causing him to fall down a flight of stairs was spared jail yesterday.

Babysitter 'wholly unfit' to look after four-year-old he assaulted

You are frustrated and then you commit a foul or you fall down. But now they are at the level of the World Cup so they should think about that, but it's in the game."

Football: I WAS A DIVER TOO SAYS SEPP; Winker rapped as FIFA snub him for award

A Preservation Society spokesman said: "Hedgehogs have very bad eyesight, which means they often fall down holes."

Plea on animal death toll

"Some of my property is falling down, but the house itself will take a generation to fall down. Some damage, like the broken windows, has been caused by a yobbo element, jealous of me living in a house like this."

Recluse defends crumbling mansion as authorities muster forces