Fall out means to argue with someone so badly that you stop speaking for a while: fall out with a friend. The literal meaning is common too: to drop from inside something or come loose, as in The phone fell out of my bag, or His hair is falling out. In the sense of arguing, the phrase is especially typical of British English.
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fall out with + person (over + thing); fall out of + pocket/bag; hair/teeth fall out
- I fell out with my flatmate over the cleaning, and we didn't speak for a week.
- When I bent down to tie my shoe, my phone fell out of my pocket.
- The two founders fell out over money, and one of them left the company.
What changed
First versionMy keys fell out from my pocket on the bus.
RevisionMy keys fell out of my pocket on the bus.
“From” may seem natural here, but when something drops out from inside, such as a pocket or a bag, the phrase is “fall out of”: fell out of my pocket.
“Fall out” is stronger than “argue”. You can argue all the time and stay friends, but after people fall out, they don't talk for a while: We argue about politics all the time, but we've never fallen out.
Your turn
My uncle and my dad ___ over money years ago and still don't speak to each other.
Show the answer
fell out — The speaker's uncle and dad still don't speak to each other, so they had a quarrel: “fell out”. “Made up” means they became friends again, but then they would be talking.
Think of a time you fell out with someone, for example a friend, neighbour or colleague. Write what you fell out over and whether you made up afterwards.
I fell out with my cousin over a silly joke at a family dinner, but we made up a week later.
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