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to fall apart' means to break into pieces because it is badly made.
- It was a cheap dress. The first time I wore it, it fell apart.
- I had terrible problems assembling the shelves, then they fell apart as soon as I put something on them.
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to fall apart' also means to stop working properly or efficiently.
- The group fell apart when two or three members left and no one replaced them.
- Without Joe's leadership, the department just fell apart and was unable to work as it had before.
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to fall back on something' means to use something when everything else has failed, to use something reliable.
- If I don't get this job, I don't have any savings to fall back on.
- They don't have very much capital to fall back on if this venture fails.
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to fall behind' means to do something more slowly than others so that you are behind.
- I couldn't walk as fast as everyone else and soon fell behind.
- When she fell behind the other runners, no one thought she would catch up and win the race.
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to fall behind' also means to not be on schedule.
- We didn't want to fall behind so we worked late into the night.
- The problems we have had mean that we have fallen behind and won't meet the deadline.
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to fall down' means to go from a vertical position to the ground.
- The old oak tree in the garden fell down in the storm.
- I slipped on the sidewalk and fell down and hurt my back.
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to fall down' means an argument or an idea is not complete or doesn't work.
- That's where your argument falls down. What you say isn't logical.
- This is the difficult part where everyone falls down. Nobody knows how to do it.
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to fall for' means to fall in love with.
- He is besotted. He has really fallen for her in a big way.
- He fell for her the first time he saw her and asked her to marry him the second time!
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to fall for' also means to be taken in by a trick or something that is not true.
- That is such an obvious lie. Nobody is going to fall for that.
- He told me he was going to invest the money for me and I fell for it.
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