befall
/bɪˈfɔl/verb, noun
befall is spelled B-E-F-A-L-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, befall means “To fall upon; fall all over; overtake” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in befall?
| Letters | 6: B-E-F-A-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,154th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is befall?
Befall appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,154th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce befall?
- UK /bɪˈfɔːl/
- US /bɪˈfɔl/
- US /biˈfɑl/
Befall has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-befall.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with befall?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as befall from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of befall
- befalls present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- befalling participle, present
- befell past
- befallen participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does befall mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.
At dusk an unusual calm befalls the wetlands.
- 2
To happen.
- 3
To happen to.
Temptation befell me.
- 4
obsoleteTo fall.
With a thought I tooke for Maudline & a cruse of cockle pottage. with a thing thus tall, skie blesse you all: I befell into this dotage.
noun
- 1
Case; instance; circumstance; event; incident; accident.
He said "I would advise people to cultivate frugal habits. I will not commit the crime of making them helpless by saying that they have no responsibility whatever in the befall of calamities like old age, illness, accident, etc. …"
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Befall in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense happen to:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | befallen, zustoßen, hereinbrechen, widerfahren, überkommen, ergreifen |
| Spanish | acaecer a |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does befall come from?
From Middle English bifallen, from Old English befeallan, from Proto-West Germanic *bifallan, from Proto-Germanic *bifallaną; equivalent to be- + fall.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).