free-fall
[ free-fawl ]
/ ˈfriˌfɔl /
verb (used without object), free-fell, free-fall·en, free-fall·ing.
(of parachutists) to descend initially, as for a designated interval, in a free fall: The jumpers were required to free-fall for eight seconds.
adjective
denoting or suggesting a free fall: a free-fall recession.
noun
Words nearby free-fall
Definition for free-fall (2 of 2)
free fall
noun
the hypothetical fall of a body such that the only force acting upon it is that of gravity.
the part of a parachute jump that precedes the opening of the parachute.
a decline, especially a sudden or rapid decline, as in value or prestige, that appears to be endless or bottomless: The economy was in a free fall all winter.
Also
free-fall
(for defs 1, 2).
Origin of free fall
First recorded in 1915–20
Example sentences from the Web for free-fall
British Dictionary definitions for free-fall
free fall
noun
free descent of a body in which the gravitational force is the only force acting on it
the part of a parachute descent before the parachute opens
Cultural definitions for free-fall
free fall
In physics, the motion of a body being acted upon only by gravity. A satellite in orbit is in free fall, as is a skydiver (if we neglect the effects of air resistance).
notes for free fall
During free fall, objects are said to be weightless.
Idioms and Phrases with free-fall
free fall
A rapid, uncontrolled decline, as in The markets threatened to go into free fall and we came close to outright panic. This term transfers the aeronautical meaning of a free fall, that is, “a fall through the air without any impedance, such as a parachute,” to other kinds of precipitous drop. [Second half of 1900s]