fell

17 synonyms and 3 antonyms for fell, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Verb — To cut something down, especially a tree, or to knock someone or something to the ground.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

floor fly drop hide

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

vanish vicious cruel brutal savage

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

cut down chop down hew knock down bring down flatten roughshod barbarous

Synonyms by Meaning

1. verb

To cut something down, especially a tree, or to knock someone or something to the ground.

“Workers felled the dead tree in our garden before it could hit the shed.”

cut down chop down hew knock down floor bring down flatten vanish fly drop

Opposites

erect

2. adj

Cruel and merciless; fierce and deadly.

“In the old legend, a fell dragon terrorised the valley for many years.”

vicious roughshod cruel barbarous brutal savage

Opposites

merciful humane

3. noun

A high, bare stretch of hill or moorland, especially in northern England.

“Sheep wandered freely over the bare fell, where the wind never stopped.”

hide

How to use fell

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

fell a tree one fell swoop the Lake District fells

Etymology

From Old English fellan/fiellan, "to cause to fall," the causative partner of "fall" — literally "to make (something) fall."

Full origin of fell →

Frequently asked questions

What does “fell” mean?

The word “fell” means to cut something down, especially a tree, or to knock someone or something to the ground. In plain terms, mainly the past tense of a verb meaning to chop down or knock down, but also a stand-alone adjective meaning fierce/deadly, and a noun for a bare hill.

How do you pronounce “fell”?

“Fell” is pronounced fehl (/fɛl/ in IPA).

How do you use “fell” in a sentence?

Here is “fell” used in a sentence: “The loggers felled three oaks before lunch.”

What part of speech is “fell”?

Depending on how it is used, “fell” can be a verb, an adjective and a noun.

Where does the word “fell” come from?

The word “fell” comes from Old English. From Old English fellan/fiellan, "to cause to fall," the causative partner of "fall" — literally "to make (something) fall.".

Is “fell” a common word?

“Fell” is a very common word in modern English.

How many meanings does “fell” have?

“Fell” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to cut something down, especially a tree, or to knock someone or something to the ground.

What is the difference between 'fell' and 'fall'?

To fell is to make something fall — you fell a tree by cutting it down. To fall is to drop of your own accord. Fell is transitive and always takes an object; fall is intransitive. Confusingly, 'fell' is also the past tense of 'fall,' as in 'he fell over.'

What does it mean to fell a tree?

To fell a tree is to cut it down so that it drops to the ground, usually with an axe or a saw. It is the standard term in forestry and logging. The person who does this is a feller, and a tree that has been cut is said to have been felled.

What is the past tense of 'fell'?

When 'fell' means to cut or knock down, its past tense is 'felled' — 'they felled the oak last winter.' Do not confuse this with 'fell' as the past tense of 'fall.' So a lumberjack felled a tree, but a hiker fell down a slope.

People also searched

drop floor fly hide cruel savage brutal vicious humane erect merciful vanish

Nearby words

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