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- DictionaryBe·fall/bəˈfôl/
verb
- 1. (of something bad) happen to someone: literary "a tragedy befell his daughter"
The meaning of BEFALL is to happen especially as if by fate. How to use befall in a sentence.
BEFALL definition: 1. If something bad or dangerous befalls you, it happens to you: 2. If something bad or dangerous…. Learn more.
to happen to, especially by chance or fate. befall. / bɪˈfɔːl / verb. intr to take place; come to pass. tr to happen to. intrusually foll byto to be due, as by right.
Befall is an old-fashioned or literary way of saying something happened by chance. Bad luck befalls a heroine who drops her lucky rabbit foot. When something befalls you, it’s like bad luck falling on you. An earthquake can befall a city. A terrible disease could befall a child.
BEFALL meaning: 1. If something bad or dangerous befalls you, it happens to you: 2. If something bad or dangerous…. Learn more.
Definition of befall verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
befall - happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance; "It happens that today is my birthday"; "These things befell" (Santayana)
befall in British English. (bɪˈfɔːl ) verb Word forms: -falls, -falling, -fell, -fallen archaic or literary. 1. (intransitive) to take place; come to pass. 2. (transitive) to happen to. 3. (intransitive; usually foll by to) to be due, as by right.
Jun 12, 2024 · befall (third-person singular simple present befalls, present participle befalling, simple past befell, past participle befallen) At dusk an unusual calm befalls the wetlands. ( intransitive) To happen . ( transitive) To happen to. Temptation befell me.
Used with the impersonal subject it and a following clause to indicate the occurrence of a usually unexpected or chance event. American Heritage. To be fitting; pertain. Webster's New World. More Verb Definitions (2) Synonyms: bechance. betide.