Word
fell
US/ˈfɛɫ/
UK/fˈɛl/
Definitions
01past tense of fall
A2 · Elementary
v. the past tense of the word 'fall'.
v. the simple past tense of the intransitive verb 'fall'.
“The temperature fell quickly as soon as the sun went down.”
“The stock market fell sharply following the announcement of the new trade restrictions, wiping out months of steady gains in a single afternoon.”
02to cut down
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to cut down a tree or knock someone down with a blow.
v. to cause to fall by cutting, knocking, or striking. Transitive — requires a direct object.
“The workers had to fell the old oak tree because it was rotting.”
“The lumberjacks were hired to fell the diseased timber before the infestation could spread to the healthier parts of the forest.”
Synonyms
03a hill or moor
C1 · Advanced Countable noun British English · Dialect
n. a high, rocky hill or a wild area of open land, common in Northern England.
n. a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or upland moor. Often associated with the geography of Northern England and Scandinavia.
“We spent the whole afternoon walking across the fells in the Lake District.”
“The hikers struggled to find the path as a thick mist descended over the fells, obscuring the rocky ridges and steep drops.”
Antonyms
04cruel or deadly
C2 · Proficiency Literary
adj. very cruel, fierce, or deadly.
adj. of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing. Often used in the fixed phrase 'in one fell swoop'.
“The king's fell plan was to take over the neighbouring lands by force.”
“The entire village was destroyed in one fell swoop, leaving the survivors to wonder how such a catastrophe could occur so suddenly.”
Confusables
Fall is an intransitive verb meaning to drop down, while fell is the transitive action of knocking something over.
RememberYou fall down; you fell a tree.
Real-World Examples
“New lending to property investors fell sharply in the three months to June, slumping almost 9%, ABS data showed, while the number of total new home loans dropped by 5.4% in the June quarter.” “Crowds across the country assembled as the sun’s power seemed to wane, twilight changed tone abruptly, the temperature fell and the familiar landscape took on an unnatural appearance.” Etymology
From Middle English fellen, from Old English fellan, fiellan (“to cause to fall, strike down, fell, cut down, throw down, defeat, destroy, kill, tumble, cause to stumble”), from Proto-West Germanic fallijan, from Proto-Germanic fallijaną (“to fell, to cause to fall”), causative of Proto-Germanic fallaną (“to fall”), from Proto-Indo-European h₂peh₃lH-. Cognate with Dutch vellen (“to fell, cut down”), German fällen (“to fell”), Danish fælde (“to fell”), Norwegian felle (“to fell”).
From Middle English fell, fel, vel, from Old English fel, fell (“hide, skin, pelt”), from Proto-West Germanic fell, from Proto-Germanic fellą, from Proto-Indo-European *pél-no- (“skin, animal hide”). See also West Frisian fel, Dutch vel, German Fell, Latin pellis (“skin”), Lithuanian plėnė (“skin”), Russian плена́ (plená, “pelt”), Albanian plah (“to cover”), Ancient Greek πέλλᾱς (péllās, “skin”). Related to film, felt, pell, and pelt.
From Middle English fell, felle, from Old Norse fell (fjall, fiæl, “mountain range or mountain terrain above the tree line”), from Proto-Germanic felzą, fel(e)zaz, falisaz (compare German Felsen 'boulder, cliff', Middle Low German vels 'hill, mountain'), from Proto-Indo-European pels-; compare Irish aill (“boulder, cliff”), Ancient Greek πέλλα (pélla, “stone”), Pashto پرښه (parṣ̌a, “rock, rocky ledge”), Sanskrit पाषाण (pāṣāṇa, “stone”). Doublet of fjeld. Cognates includes: Danish fjeld (fjæld), Faroese fjall (fjøll), Icelandic fjall (fell), Norwegian fjell (fjøll, fjødd, fjedd, fjedl, fjill, fill, fil, fel), Swedish fjäll (Old Swedish fiæl).
From Middle English fel, fell (“strong, fierce, terrible, cruel, angry”), either from Old French fel or from Old English fel, felo, fæle (“cruel, savage, fierce”) (only in compounds, wælfel (“bloodthirsty”), ealfelo (“evil, baleful”), ælfæle (“very dire”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic fali, falu, from Proto-Germanic faluz (“wicked, cruel, terrifying”). Cognate with Old Frisian fal (“cruel”), Middle Dutch fel (“wrathful, cruel, bad, base”), German Low German fell (“rash, swift”), Danish fæl (“disgusting, hideous, ghastly, grim”). Compare also Middle High German vālant (“imp”) and Dutch fel (“fierce, feisty, bitter”). See felon.
Perhaps from Latin fel (“gall, poison, bitterness”), or more probably from the adjective above.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C2 ProficiencyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.8.5–9.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 6.0114–120
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- C2 · Proficiency
- Updated
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