falls

/fɑlz/

/fɔlz/

A falls is a waterfall, a natural place where water cascades from a height. Niagara Falls is one of the world's most well-known falls.

The noun falls can be singular or plural: "We saw four small falls flowing down the side of the mountain." Falls are formed when a river or stream flows over a cliff or a high, rocky area. Some falls occur when snow melts and water cascades down the face of a mountain. The word falls comes from the water falling, from an Old English root word: feallan, "to drop from a height."

Definitions of falls

1. noun

   a steep descent of the water of a river
   synonyms: waterfall

   examples:

   American Falls

   a part of Niagara Falls in western New York (north of Buffalo)

   Angel Falls

   the highest waterfall; has more than one leap; flow varies seasonally

   Horseshoe Falls

   a part of Niagara Falls in Ontario

   Cuquenan Falls

   a famous waterfall in Venezuela

   Victoria Falls

   a large waterfall on the border between Argentina and Brazil

   Niagara Falls

   waterfall in Canada is the Horseshoe Falls; in the United States it is the American Falls

   Paulo Afonso Falls

   a major waterfall in northeastern Brazil

   Guaira Falls

   a great waterfall on the border between Brazil and Paraguay

   Takakkaw

   a waterfall in southeastern British Columbia; the highest waterfall in Canada (1250 feet high)

   Tugela Falls

   a major waterfall in southern Africa; has more than one leap

   Twin Falls

   a waterfall in the Snake River in southern Idaho

   Urubupunga Falls

   a waterfall in the Parana river in Brazil

   Victoria Falls

   a waterfall in the Zambezi River on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia; diminishes seasonally

   Yosemite Falls

   a series of waterfalls in Yosemite National Park in California; is reduced to a trickle for part of each year

   types:

   cascade

   a small waterfall or series of small waterfalls

   cataract

   a large waterfall; violent rush of water over a precipice

   type of:

   body of water, water

   the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)
2. noun

   the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
   type of:

   chlamys, floral envelope, perianth, perigone, perigonium

   collective term for the outer parts of a flower consisting of the calyx and corolla and enclosing the stamens and pistils