fall upon
B2 formal inseparable transitive
In simple words
To suddenly attack someone, to find something by accident, or to have a job land on you.
Literal meaning: To physically drop or land on something — the idiomatic senses extend this to sudden action or discovery.
Meanings
1 B2
idiomatic
formal
To attack someone or something suddenly and with force.
"The soldiers fell upon the enemy camp before dawn."
""They fell upon him and beat him.""
— Bible, Luke 10:30 (paraphrase of the Good Samaritan parable)
Grammar: inseparable
2 B2
idiomatic
formal
To discover or encounter something by chance.
"Browsing the archives, she fell upon a letter that changed everything."
Grammar: inseparable
3 B2
idiomatic
formal
Of a responsibility or task: to become someone's duty.
"When the director resigned, the burden of the presentation fell upon the junior manager."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Chiefly formal or literary. Common in historical writing, literature, and formal speech. 'Fall on' is the more everyday equivalent.
Commonly used with
enemy task duty responsibility idea solution
Forms
Base
fall upon
I/you/we/they
3rd person
falls upon
he/she/it
Past simple
fell upon
yesterday
Past participle
fallen upon
have + pp
-ing form
falling upon
continuous
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Synonyms
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