fell

1 of 5

noun (1)

1
: skin, hide, pelt
2
: a thin tough membrane covering a carcass directly under the hide

fell

2 of 5

verb

felled; felling; fells

transitive verb

1
a
: to cut, knock, or bring down
fell a tree
b
: kill
Her father was felled by a heart attack.
2
: to sew (a seam) by folding one raw edge under the other and sewing flat on the wrong side
fellable adjective
feller noun

fell

3 of 5

past tense of fall

fell

4 of 5

adjective

1
b
: sinister, malevolent
a fell purpose
c
: very destructive : deadly
a fell disease
2
Scotland : sharp, pungent
fellness noun

fell

5 of 5

noun

dialectal British
: a high barren field or moor

Examples of fell in a Sentence

Verb using an ax to fell a tree He's strong enough to fell an ox. Adjective planning for the distribution of resources in case of some fell event war crimes committed by a fell and barbarous enemy
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Buildings had been felled by airstrikes, sending up plumes of smoke. Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 But the old institutions and personalities that defined the culture are fading: Church attendance has declined at the same time that several lions of the movement have died, retired or been felled by scandal. Ruth Graham, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024 Trees are felled to make their paper and gas-powered vehicles spew carbon to deliver them. Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024 The lingering outages came after the strongest storm of the winter season roared ashore over the weekend — felling trees across the state and causing power outages that impacted more than 1 million PG&E customers across the company’s system. Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2024 In the first round, Joshua felled his opponent with a lethal straight right hand and instantly seized control in the Saudi capital. Thomas Schlachter, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024 Mama Alyssa Nakken was an absolute rockstar and is felling great/healthy. Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2024 Zandi especially frets about an unforeseen banking crisis like the one that felled Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks, a year ago. Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 Figma: Last year, regulatory scrutiny felled the sale of the design platform to Adobe. Mike Isaac, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Everything that had been achieved in Russia since 1985—from the establishment of democratic institutions to the abolition of censorship and the reunification of Russian and European cultures—Putin swept off the table in one fell swoop. Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024 All these activities are planned for you as part of the cruise itinerary—as a way for travelers to sample the diverse wonders of The Last Frontier in one fell swoop. Janice Wald Henderson, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Mar. 2024 In one fell swoop, Kawasaki nearly perfected the high-speed touring motorcycle. Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024 These trusty makeup products help with color correction, add a bit of coverage, and include a healthy dose of skin-loving ingredients, all in one fell swoop. Danielle Cohen, Glamour, 1 Mar. 2024 At best, Biden has found a way to achieve piecemeal what he was prohibited from achieving in one fell swoop. The Editors, National Review, 22 Feb. 2024 In one fell swoop, Walden had essentially demoted a division leader who had created headaches for top brass in Burbank. Lachlan Cartwright, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 From my experience, especially in a reasonable-sized enterprise, there is no way of doing it in one fell swoop. Cio, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 Thankfully, this gentle, oil-free gel gets the job done in one fell swoop, removing all the makeup from your eyelids and eyelashes—no matter how waterproof. Iman Balagam, Vogue, 25 Jan. 2024
Noun
Classes are held in the Glasshouse with calming views of the fells. Emma Love, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Feb. 2024 Petty theft, embezzlement and fraud, and vandalism all increased, whereas assault, drug offenses and DUI’s fell. Will McCarthy, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2024 The landscape is still worked by traditional sheep farmers, with their livestock inescapable when out tramping over the fells. Jack Guy, CNN, 16 May 2023 Fell-Davis fell apart. Meg Bernhard, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2023 As day turned to night, an uncanny quiet fell, with the remnants of Ghani’s government calling for calm. Marcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fell.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German fel skin, Latin pellis

Verb

Middle English, from Old English fellan; akin to Old English feallan to fall — more at fall

Adjective

Middle English fel, from Anglo-French — more at felon

Noun

Middle English, from Old Norse fell, fjall mountain; akin to Old High German felis rock

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fell was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near fell

Cite this Entry

“Fell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fell. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fell

1 of 3 verb
1
a
: to cut, beat, or knock down
fell trees
2
: to sew (a seam) by folding one edge under the other

fell

2 of 3

past of fall entry 1

Etymology

Verb

Old English fellan "to knock down"

Adjective

Middle English fel "fierce, terrible," from early French fel (same meaning), from fel, felon "villain, evildoer" — related to felon

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