verb

fell

fehl

verb

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

"The loggers felled three oaks before lunch."

"One punch felled the much bigger man."

adj

Cruel and merciless; fierce and deadly.

"She spoke of the war's fell consequences."

""One fell swoop" is the only place most people still meet this word."

noun

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

"They hiked across the fells above Windermere."

How to Use Fell

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMainly 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.

Common mistake

The adjective sense survives almost only in the fixed phrase "at one fell swoop" — don't expect to use it freely elsewhere.

Common pairings

fell a tree one fell swoop the Lake District fells

Word Forms

feller comparative, more fell comparative, felled past tense, fells plural, fells plural, fells plural, fells singular, fellest superlative, most fell superlative

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The loggers _____ three oaks before lunch.

Etymology

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

Rhymes for fell

ell hell bell cell sell tell well dell yell pell kell Nell

See all rhymes for fell →