fall behind (somebody/something) - Longman Dictionary

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfall behind (somebody/something) phrasal verb1 SLOWto go more slowly than other people so that they gradually ... fallbehind(somebody/something)FromLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglishfallbehind(somebody/something)phrasalverb1SLOWtogomoreslowlythanotherpeoplesothattheygraduallymovefurtheraheadofyou  Hismotherwaschattinganddidn’tnoticethathehadfallenbehind.  Shehurtherankleandhadfallenbehindtheothers.2EFFECTIVEtobecomelesssuccessfulthanotherpeople,companies,countriesetc  Afterhertimeinhospital,Jenny’sparentsareafraidshehasfallenbehindeducationally.  Companiesthatarenotmarket-drivenriskfallingbehindthecompetition.3LATEtofailtofinishapieceofworkorpaysomeonemoneythatyouowethemattherighttimewith/on  Afterlosinghisjob,hefellbehindwithhismortgagepayments.  Theprojecthasfallenbehindschedule.→fall→SeeVerbtableExamplesfromtheCorpusfallbehind•Asbefore,theyagainfallbehindearly,butthistimetheybattleback.•Thelevelofprovisionscouldbegintodropnextyearasfewerfamiliesfallbehindintheirhomeloanpayments.•Itseemsthattheyarestillworkingonhowtousetheirtimeandsomestudentsarefallingbehindintheirwork.•Certainotherstudentssimplyfellbehindsomuchthattheycouldnotcatchuplateron.•Inrecentyears,teachers'salarieshavefallenbehindthoseofothernon-manualworkers.•Theyhadfallenbehindtoacrazygoalafter33minutes. fallenbehindschedule•Homeprojecthadfallenbehindschedule.•Countlessadvancedcommunicationsprojectshavefallenbehindscheduleafterbeingheavilypromoted.•Itseemsthatmattershavefallenbehindscheduleandneedtobeputbackontherails.FromLongmanBusinessDictionaryfallbehindphrasalverbCOMMERCE1[intransitive,transitive]fallbehindsomebody/somethingtomakelessprogressthanothersinacompetitivesituationSmallfirmsthatfallbehindtechnologicallycanberapidlywipedout.2[intransitive]tofailtomakepaymentsontime,forexampleforrentoronaloanwith/onHehadfallenbehindwithhismortgageafterlosinghisjob.3[intransitive,transitive]fallbehindsomethingtofailtofinishworkontimeContractorswhofallbehindscheduleincurfinancialpenalties.→fall→SeeVerbtable Quizzes Quizzes Takeourquickquizzestopractiseyourvocabulary. Wehavethousandsofsix-questionquizzestotry. Choosefromcollocations,synonyms,phrasalverbsandmore. Picturesoftheday Whatarethese? Clickonthepicturestocheck. Exploretopics Roads Dance Pottery&ceramics Air Seealltopics Wordoftheday mug atallcupusedfordrinkingtea,coffeeetc VerbtablefallPresentI,you,we,theyfallhe,she,itfalls >ViewMore PastI,you,he,she,it,we,theyfellPresentperfectI,you,we,theyhavefallenhe,she,ithasfallenPastperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theyhadfallenFutureI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillfallFutureperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillhavefallen >ViewLess PresentIamfallinghe,she,itisfalling >ViewMore you,we,theyarefallingPastI,he,she,itwasfallingyou,we,theywerefallingPresentperfectI,you,we,theyhavebeenfallinghe,she,ithasbeenfallingPastperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theyhadbeenfallingFutureI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillbefallingFutureperfectI,you,he,she,it,we,theywillhavebeenfalling >ViewLess