Meanings
present singular third person falls short · participle present falling short · past fell short · participle past fallen short
- idiomaticTo be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient.
I did my best, but fell far short of the score cutoff.
3 more examples
Ample proof that the maintenance of locomotives and track in the mid-Victorian era sometimes fell far short of present-day standards is afforded by an accident which occurred on July 3, 1866, near Royston, on the Cambridge branch of the Great Northern Railway.
1946 July and August, “The Royston Accident, G.N.R., July 3, 1866”, in Railway Magazine, page 216They have fallen short on so many occasions that an England team who rises to the occasion are worthy of the highest praise.
2018 July 7, Phil McNulty, “Sweden 0-2 England”, in BBC SportBut if being is not a whole through being affected by that affection, and there is such a thing as the whole itself, it follows that being falls short of itself.
2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 245c
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek ὑστερέω, ἐλασσόομαι
- ὑστερέω (husteréō)to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
- ἐλασσόομαι (elassóomai)to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Dutch tekortschieten
- tekortschietento be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
French être en deçà de
- être en deçà deto be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Hungarian elmarad (…az elvárásoktól), alatta marad (…az elvárásoknak)
- elmarad (…az elvárásoktól)to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
- alatta marad (…az elvárásoknak)to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
- elégtelennek bizonyulto be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
- nem éri elto be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
- nem felel megto be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Latin dēsum
- dēsumto be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Māori hara
- harato be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Persian کم آوردن
- کم آوردن (kam âvardan)to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Portuguese não ser suficiente
- não ser suficienteto be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Russian быть недостаточным
- быть недостаточным (bytʹ)to be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Swedish komma till korta
- komma till kortato be less satisfactory than expected; to be inadequate or insufficient
Cite this entry
fall short. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20short
“fall short.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20short. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fall short,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fall%20short.
Source: fall short on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.