fall short — to fail to meet a required standard, expectation, or goal
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to fail to meet a required standard, expectation, or goal
Pronunciation (IPA): /fɔːl ʃɔːrt/
Example Sentences
- My cooking always falls short of my mom's, no matter how many YouTube videos I watch.
- The government's new policy fell short of solving the housing crisis.
- He tried to impress her with his dance moves, but honestly, he fell short big time.
fall short
VERB[/fɔːl ʃɔːrt/]
to fail to meet a required standard, expectation, or goal
While the master's arrow hit the exact center, the beginner's arrow fell short of the target.
FALL (drop down) + SHORT (lacking length) — because the wooden plank was built too SHORT, the traveler began to FALL, proving the bridge fell short of the other side.
Sweating on the hot tennis court playing a competitive sport, her tired final swing caused the ball to fall short.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Originally described a projectile like an arrow landing short of its target, later extended metaphorically to mean failing to meet a standard or expectation.
Breakdown
fall (to drop/land) + short (not far enough, insufficient)
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My cooking always falls short of my mom's, no matter how many YouTube videos I watch.”
“The government's new policy fell short of solving the housing crisis.”
“He tried to impress her with his dance moves, but honestly, he fell short big time.”
“Our team's performance fell short of the quarterly target by 15%.”
📚Related Words
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