fallaway

1 of 2

adjective

fall·​away ˈfȯl-ə-ˌwā How to pronounce fallaway (audio)
: made while moving away from the basket in basketball
a fallaway jump shot
fallaway noun

fall away

2 of 2

verb

fell away; fallen away; falling away; falls away

intransitive verb

1
a
: to withdraw friendship or support
b
: to renounce one's faith
2
a
: to diminish gradually in size
b
: to drift off a course

Examples of fallaway in a Sentence

Verb as the years went by, the public's interest in the murder case fell away
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
His fallaway, one-legged jumper at 6-11 is impossible to defend. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2023 And from the driver's seat, the thing looks racy, sporting a short, fallaway hood and sweeping lines (accentuated in the CRX by the roof tapering down behind your head to an impertinent little ducktail). Kevin Smith, Car and Driver, 4 Mar. 2023
Verb
As other symbols of wokeness fall away — including PC Principal now bringing the literal Jesus Christ into their school, and re-dubbing himself Power Christian Principal — Cartman goes through an existential crisis. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 July 2025 A number of tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, and Google, have either started working with or upped their work with the U.S. government in the last year as the taboo in Silicon Valley of working with the Defense Department has fallen away. Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 15 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for fallaway

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1936, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of fallaway was in 1535

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Fallaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fallaway. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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