Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

take the fall

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.06 in modern English

Syllables: take the -fall
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To willingly lose a match, as in a fixed fight.

Informal

verb

To bear the blame or punishment for another person's failure or misdeed, either intentionally or not.

Informal

Example Sentences

"It was good of him to take the fall for you like that, I just wonder if he will come out of this one unscathed."
"You can take the president at his word after last week's sacking of MMS director Liz Birnbaum, the first in the government to take the fall for the BP oil spill disaster"
"Trump has called this week’s deal “very strong,” even as he joked that his Vice President JD Vance would take the fall if it doesn’t work out."

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

takes the fall (present, singular) taking the fall (participle, present) took the fall (past) taken the fall (participle, past) take a fall (alternative)

Phrases

fall guy

Frequently Paired Words

fall guy scapegoat

Synonyms

take the rap

Questions

What does take the fall mean?: To willingly lose a match, as in a fixed fight.

How to pronounce take the fall

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “take the fall”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “take the fall”.
Repeat and practice — Say “take the fall” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.