fall in love
to start loving someone
What it means
To start having strong romantic feelings for someone, usually over a period of time but sometimes suddenly. It can also be used about places, foods, or things you become very enthusiastic about.
Words like “fall in love” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- They fell in love during their first year at university.
- I fell in love with Lisbon the moment I arrived.
- He fell in love with her smile before he even knew her name.
- She's never fallen in love with anyone the way she did with him.
Where it comes from
Inseparable. Usually followed by 'with' to name the person or thing. The metaphor of 'falling' suggests something involuntary and beyond your control — you don't decide to fall in love, it just happens. The phrase has been used in English since at least the 1500s.
Related phrasal verbs
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