fall behind

1. To not be as current with a task or activity as one should or ideally would be. I fell behind with my schoolwork when I had the flu. I've fallen behind with that show—can you tell me what happened in the latest episode? A: "Did the due date get moved up or something?" B: "No, I just fell behind when I was out for a week on vacation."

2. To be lacking in comparison to others' progress. If you've fallen behind the other people in your math class, you need to get a tutor—exams are coming up. The baby isn't gaining as much weight as I'd like. In fact, he's fallen behind others in his age bracket. There are a bunch of us in French class who'd never taken a foreign language before, but, somehow, they're doing fine while I'm falling behind.

3. To move or otherwise act more slowly than someone else. I fell behind her early in the race and could just never catch up. A: "I didn't expect you to fall behind right from the get-go." B: "Yeah, well, that's what happens when your car stalls at the starting line." You lead the kids, and I'll stay at the back of the line to corral anyone who falls behind.

4. To not be up to date on one's current financial obligations. All of those medical bills have caused me to fall behind on the rent. A: "If you'd had more money saved up, you wouldn't have fallen behind on your bills. Just sayin'." B: "Gee, thanks." Because I'm still waiting for three clients to pay me, now I'm falling behind with my own bills.

See also: behind, fall

fall behind

(in something) and fall behind (on something); fall behind (with something); get behind (in something); get behind (on something); get behind (with something) to lag behind schedule in some kind of work or some other scheduled activity. You are falling behind in your car payments. I tried not to get behind on them. Please don't fall behind with your payments. I won't fall behind again.

See also: behind, fall

fall behind

(someone or something) to lag behind someone or something. You have fallen behind everyone else in class. Our production fell behind that of the other production line.

See also: behind, fall

fall behind

(with something) Go to fall behind (in something).

See also: behind, fall

fall behind

Also, get behind.

1. Lag, fail to keep up, as in You really must keep up with the others; if you fall behind you could get lost. [First half of 1500s]

2. Be financially in arrears, as in He fell behind in his payments. [Mid-1800s]

See also: behind, 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 behind

1. To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind: Despite a strong performance in the beginning, he fell behind in the second half of the race and finished last.

2. To fail to maintain a desired level of performance: She missed two classes and fell behind in her reading assignments.

3. To be financially in arrears: After losing my job, I fell behind on the mortgage payments.

See also: behind, fall

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