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fall on meaning and examples

2025-09-12

Meaning

  • Fall on has several meanings depending on the context:

    1. To land on or be directed toward something (physically or figuratively). e.g., His eyes fell on the letter.
    2. To attack someone suddenly. e.g., The robbers fell on the travelers.
    3. To be the responsibility or duty of someone. e.g., The task fell on me to finish the report.
    4. To occur on a particular day. e.g., Her birthday falls on a Sunday this year.

Grammar and Usage

  • Verb phrase: intransitive or transitive depending on meaning.

  • Patterns:

    • fall on + object (attack, responsibility, attention)
    • fall on + day/date (occur on)

Examples:

  • The soldiers fell on the village.
  • The responsibility fell on the manager.
  • The meeting falls on Monday.

Common Phrases

  • fall on deaf ears – to be ignored.
  • fall on hard times – to experience difficulty or poverty.
  • fall on one’s sword – to accept blame or responsibility.

Collocations

  • fall on someone’s shoulders
  • fall on a date/day
  • fall on hard times
  • fall on deaf ears

Examples

  1. His gaze fell on the mysterious painting in the corner.
  2. The wolves fell on the sheep without warning.
  3. The duty to organize the event fell on me.
  4. Christmas falls on a Thursday this year.
  5. Her suggestion fell on deaf ears during the meeting.
  6. The burden of proof falls on the prosecution.
  7. They fell on the food after the long journey.
  8. Many families fell on hard times during the crisis.
  • Attack → assault, strike, pounce on
  • Responsibility → rest with, be assigned to
  • Occur → happen on, take place on

Antonym

  • Ignore (opp. of attention falling on something)
  • Defend (opp. of attack)
  • Escape responsibility (opp. of duty falling on someone)