FALLS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does falls mean? 

• FALLS (noun)
  The noun FALLS has 2 senses:

1. the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)

2. a steep descent of the water of a river

  Familiarity information: FALLS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FALLS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

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

chlamys; floral envelope; perianth; perigone; perigonium (collective term for the outer parts of a flower consisting of the calyx and corolla and enclosing the stamens and pistils)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A steep descent of the water of a river

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

falls; waterfall

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

body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))

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

cascade (a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls)

cataract (a large waterfall; violent rush of water over a precipice)

Instance hyponyms:

Paulo Afonso; Paulo Afonso Falls (a major waterfall in northeastern Brazil)

Yosemite; Yosemite Falls (a series of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park in California; is reduced to a trickle for part of each year)

Victoria; Victoria Falls (a waterfall in the Zambezi River on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia; diminishes seasonally)

Urubupunga; Urubupunga Falls (a waterfall in the Parana river in Brazil)

Twin; Twin Falls (a waterfall in the Snake River in southern Idaho)

Tugela; Tugela Falls (a major waterfall in southern Africa; has more than one leap)

Takakkaw (a waterfall in southeastern British Columbia; the highest waterfall in Canada (1250 feet high))

Guaira; Guaira Falls; Sete Quedas (a great waterfall on the border between Brazil and Paraguay)

American Falls (a part of Niagara Falls in western New York (north of Buffalo))

Niagara; Niagara Falls (waterfall in Canada is the Horseshoe Falls; in the United States it is the American Falls)

Iguassu; Iguassu Falls; Iguazu; Iguazu Falls; Victoria Falls (a large waterfall on the border between Argentina and Brazil)

Cuquenan; Cuquenan Falls; Kukenaam; Kukenaam Falls (a famous waterfall in Venezuela)

Canadian Falls; Horseshoe Falls (a part of Niagara Falls in Ontario)

Angel; Angel Falls (the highest waterfall; has more than one leap; flow varies seasonally)

Holonyms ("falls" is a part of...):

river (a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek))

 Context examples 

Mercury comes from industrial pollution in the air that falls into the water, where it turns into methylmercury and accumulates in fish.

(Brain benefits of aerobic exercise lost to mercury exposure, NIH)

If your birthday falls within five days of July 13, you will feel the lyrical quality of this full moon the greatest.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Geophysical monitoring of the ground above active supervolcanoes, like the one located in Yellowstone National Park, shows that it rises and falls as magma moves beneath the surface of the Earth.

(Supervolcanoes like Yellowstone may have been more active in the past, NSF)

It rises and falls in waves that pass one after another.

(Song of the red rock arches, National Science Foundation)

The disk has probably heated to the point where the gas in the disk has become ionized, leading to a rapid increase in how fast the material falls onto the star.

(Loneliest Young Star Seen by Spitzer and WISE, NASA)

When material falls into the black hole, where does the energy go?

(Black Hole Image Makes History, NASA)

In making me the offer, you must have satisfied the delicacy of your feelings with regard to my family, and may take possession of Longbourn estate whenever it falls, without any self-reproach.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

We had strict injunctions, however, on no account to pass the falls of Reichenbach, which are about half-way up the hill, without making a small détour to see them.

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

Hyponatremia occurs when the sodium level in the blood falls below 135 mmol/L.

(Blood Sodium Levels May Affect Cognition in Older Adults, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The ice can become so dense that it is heavier than water and falls to the bottom of the sea.

(Ganymede may harbor 'club sandwich' of oceans and ice, NASA)