fall line


noun

an imaginary line, marked by waterfalls and rapids, where rivers descend abruptly from an upland to a lowland.
(initial capital letters) Eastern U.S. the imaginary line between the Piedmont and the Atlantic coastal plain.
Skiing. the path of natural descent from one point on a slope to another.

Origin of fall line

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example sentences from the Web for fall line

  • Great tracts of wilderness separated communities beyond the fall-line of the rivers.

    Union and Democracy |Allen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for fall line (1 of 2)

fall line

noun

skiing the natural downward course between two points on a slope
the edge of a plateau

British Dictionary definitions for fall line (2 of 2)

Fall Line

noun

a natural junction, running parallel to the E coast of the US, between the hard rocks of the Appalachians and the softer coastal plain, along which rivers form falls and rapids

Scientific definitions for fall line

fall line
[ fôl ]

A line connecting the waterfalls of nearly parallel rivers that marks a drop in land level.