Fell has 17 different meanings across 4 categories:
Noun · Verb · Adjective · Proper Noun
seam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edges
"The tailor carefully fell the lining of the jacket to ensure no raw fabric was exposed on the inside."
the act of felling something (as a tree)
"The lumberjack swung his axe until he finally fell the old oak tree."
A cutting-down of timber.
"The miners separated the valuable gold from the rock so that only the finest portions fell through the sieve into the collection bin below."
An animal skin, hide, pelt.
A rocky ridge or chain of mountains.
Anger; gall; melancholy.
The finer portions of ore, which go through the meshes when the ore is sorted by sifting.
In plain English: A fell is a high, open hill or mountain found mainly in northern England and Scotland.
"The sudden fall in temperature made everyone put on their coats."
Usage: Use "fell" only in mining contexts to describe the fine particles that pass through a sieve during ore sorting. In everyday conversation, this term is obsolete and should be replaced with words like dust or powder.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
"strike down a tree"
"Lightning struck down the hikers"
sew a seam by folding the edges
"She carefully fell the fabric together before pressing the crease flat."
To make something fall; especially to chop down a tree.
"The leaves fell from the tree when the wind picked up."
simple past tense of fall
In plain English: To fell means to cut down a tree until it falls over.
Usage: Use "fell" only as the simple past tense of the verb "fall," such as saying he fell down yesterday. Do not use it as the present tense for cutting down trees; instead, use "fells."
Of a strong and cruel nature; eager and unsparing; grim; fierce; ruthless; savage.
"The fell beast tore through the forest with relentless fury, leaving no sign of mercy in its wake."
In plain English: Fell means extremely bad, terrible, or very unpleasant.
"The fell dog chased the rabbit across the green hills."
Usage: Use "fell" as an adjective to describe someone or something that is fierce, ruthless, or savage in nature, often evoking the image of a deadly predator. It is typically applied to warriors, beasts, or abstract forces like winter to emphasize their cruel and unsparing power.
Sharply; fiercely.
"The storm fell upon us with such ferocity that we were forced to take shelter immediately."
In plain English: Fell means to fall down suddenly, usually because you slipped or lost your balance.
"The heavy box fell flat on the floor."
Usage: Use "fell" only as an adverb to describe doing something with great force or intensity, such as hitting someone fell. It is often confused with "fall," which means to drop down, and should never be used interchangeably in modern English.
A surname.
"My neighbor, Mr. Fell, greeted me at the mailbox before heading to his office."
The word fell comes from Old English, where it originally meant to strike down, defeat, or kill someone. It traveled into modern English with this sense of causing something to fall rather than just falling on its own.