fall behind
The phrase "fall behind" is often used to describe situations where someone or something is not keeping up with others or with a schedule.
Definition
B1General
(common)To move or progress more slowly than others.
Example
- He fell behind during the race and couldn't catch up.
B2Academic
(common)To not keep up with a schedule or required pace of work.
Example
- She fell behind in her studies and had to take extra classes.
B2Financial
(common)To become overdue in paying bills or fulfilling financial obligations.
Example
- They fell behind on their mortgage payments.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "fall behind":
hang behindfall backstay behindfall awayfall tofall throughtrail behinddrop behindfall offfall intoget behindfall togetherrun behindfall downbehind the curvefall oncatch upfall outdrop backfall duefall down onfall overfall infall foulfall forlose outleave behindstay backbe latefall upfall in withlose timebehind in the countmiss outdrop the ballslack offfall uponfall into oneselfkeep pacebring up shortfall aparttake a back seatfalling outlie behindfall from graceslip updrop offcome afterstand behindget ahead ofkeep backfall off one's perchfall to pieceshang offfall in linehold backfade awaytake the fallon the back footcome a croppercome shortfall to the groundtake a tumblerun downpick up the slackhide behindgo backwardslet downkeep aheaddrop outslacken off