Meanings
present singular third person falls off the wagon · participle present falling off the wagon · past fell off the wagon · participle past fallen off the wagon
- idiomaticTo cease or fail at a regimen of self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an old habit or addiction.
Though he fell off the wagon several times, he eventually succeeded in quitting.
2 more examples
In 2006, he checked himself into the Hazelden center in Springbrook, Ore., to be treated for an addiction to alcohol, having fallen off the wagon after some 20 years of sobriety.
2014 August 11, Dave Itzkoff, “Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide”, in New York TimesAfter nearly 17 years of sobriety, Zevon fell off the wagon hard when he was diagnosed.
2018 September 8, Steven Hyden, “His Sh*t’s F***ed Up: The Complicated Legacy of Warren Zevon”, in The Ringer, retrieved 08 Sep 2018Synonyms: relapse
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo cease or fail at a regimen of self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an old habit or addiction.
Origin
Originally fall off the water wagon or fall off the water cart, referring to carts used to hose down dusty roads: see the 1901 quotation below. The suggestion is that a person who is “on the wagon” is drinking water rather than alcoholic beverages. The term may have been used by the early 20th-century temperance movement in the United States; for instance, William Hamilton Anderson (1874 – c. 1959), the superintendent of the New York Anti-Saloon League, is said to have made the following remark about Prohibition: “Be a good sport about it. No more falling off the water wagon. Uncle Sam will help you keep your pledge.”
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 故态复萌
- 故态复萌 (gù tài fù méng)to cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Danish falde af vandvognen
- falde af vandvognento cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
French replonger
- replongerto cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Hungarian visszaesik/elcsábul, és újra iszik/inni kezd/italhoz nyúl
- visszaesik/elcsábul, és újra iszik/inni kezd/italhoz nyúlto cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Italian ricadere nel vizio
- ricadere nel vizioto cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Polish wracać do nałogu, wrócić do nałogu
- wracać do nałoguto cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
- wrócić do nałoguto cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Russian развяза́ть, сорва́ться
- развяза́ть (razvjazátʹ)to cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
- сорва́ться (sorvátʹsja)to cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Spanish recaer
- recaerto cease a self-improvement or reform; to lapse back into an addiction
Cite this entry
fall off the wagon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20off%20the%20wagon
“fall off the wagon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20off%20the%20wagon. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fall off the wagon,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20off%20the%20wagon.
Source: fall off the wagon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.