1. Home
2. Idioms
3. fall away

fall away

---

---

fall away

 (from someone or something)

1. Lit. [for something] to drop away from someone or something. The paint is falling away from the sides of the house. Over the years, all the paint fell away.

2. Fig. [for someone] to move back or retreat from someone or something. The soldiers fell away from the line of battle.

3. Fig. to distance oneself from someone; to end an association with someone. The candidate's supporters fell away from her when they heard about the scandal.

See also: away, fall

fall away

1. Also, fall off. Withdraw one's friendship, support, or allegiance. For example, After the divorce, her friends slowly fell away. [Early 1500s]

2. Also, fall off. Gradually decline in size or strength, as in The breeze slowly fell away, or, as Shakespeare put it ( King Lear, 1:2): "Love cools, friendship falls off, Brothers divide." [Early 1500s]

3. Drift from an established faith, cause, or principles. For example, I fell away from the Catholic Church when I was a teenager. [Early 1500]

See also: away, fall

fall away

v.

1. To become gradually diminished in size, amount, or intensity: Company revenues have been falling away in recent years. The sound of the car fell away into the distance.

2. To drift off an established course or pattern: I slowly fell away from my work in chemistry and spent more time writing fiction.

3. To be shed, lost, or discarded: Before we knew it, the summer days had fallen away. As I exercised, inches fell away from my waistline.

4. To drop off or become steeper at a distance: The road falls away just past the meadow.

See also: away, fall