Library / English Dictionary

FELL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of felling something (as a tree)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("fell" is a kind of...):

kill; killing; putting to death (the act of terminating a life)

Derivation:

fell (cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Seam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edges

Synonyms:

fell; felled seam

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("fell" is a kind of...):

seam (joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces)

Derivation:

fell (sew a seam by folding the edges)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)

Synonyms:

fell; hide

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("fell" is a kind of...):

animal skin (the outer covering of an animal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fell"):

cowhide (the hide of a cow)

goatskin (the hide of a goat)

rawhide (untanned hide especially of cattle; cut in strips it is used for whips and ropes)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

Example:

vicious kicks

Synonyms:

barbarous; brutal; cruel; fell; roughshod; savage; vicious

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

inhumane (lacking and reflecting lack of pity or compassion)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow

Example:

Lightning struck down the hikers

Synonyms:

cut down; drop; fell; strike down

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "fell" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Cause:

come down; descend; fall; go down (move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fell"):

chop down (cut down)

poleax; poleaxe (fell with or as if with a poleax)

log; lumber (cut lumber, as in woods and forests)

cut (fell by sawing; hew)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They fell the trees

Derivation:

fell (the act of felling something (as a tree))

feller (a person who fells trees)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Sew a seam by folding the edges

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "fell" is one way to...):

run up; sew; sew together; stitch (fasten by sewing; do needlework)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fell (seam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edges)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Pass away rapidly

Example:

Time fleeing beneath him

Synonyms:

fell; fly; vanish

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "fell" is one way to...):

elapse; glide by; go along; go by; lapse; pass; slide by; slip away; slip by (pass by)

Verb group:

fly; vanish; vaporize (decrease rapidly and disappear)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Credits

 Context examples: 

Across the 3 time periods, the proportion with low lung function fell from 7.9% to 6.3% to 3.6%.

(Cleaner Air Tied to Healthier Lungs in Kids, NIH)

Holmes struck a match and held it to the back wheel, and I heard him chuckle as the light fell upon a patched Dunlop tire.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He had already, in spite of the rain, taken off his overcoat in order to do his delicate task, and so, as he fell, his knife gashed his thigh.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But I saw thee not, that night, when all thy people—yea, even the boys not yet hunters—fell upon the Russians and slew them all.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Still, it did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his back before the blow fell.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A job was to them a golden fetich before which they fell down and worshipped.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I fell to the floor, feeling very faint, while he sat down, lighted a cigar, and watched me as a cat watches a mouse.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I soon fell into some acquaintance, and was very hospitably received.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Utterson became so used to the unvarying character of these reports, that he fell off little by little in the frequency of his visits.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Terlake fell short, crashed in among the oars, and bounded off into the sea.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)