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# fell short

phrase (verb phrase: fall short, falls, fell, has fallen short, falling short; «fall short of»)

«fell short» in the English dictionary: in the primary school — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In the primary school

Source: Mova's pupils' dictionary. Licence: [Elamur Cosmic License](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/LICENSE/). Reviewed: the dictionary the pupils of Mova's primary school read; its examples quote the lessons and public-domain tales. Ships with Mova.

### Meaning

1. (euphemism, soft) failed to reach a goal, a standard or what was hoped; was not good enough.
2. (literal) did not travel far enough: «the ball fell short of the net».
3. (of money or supplies) was not enough: «we fell short by five pounds».

### In the lessons

A gentle way to say «failed», used in school reports, sports news, business results and official letters; formal-neutral, all regions. In maths problems, «fell short by» gives a difference.

### Examples

- The team played well but fell short in the final.
- Sales fell short of expectations this quarter.
- Her essay fell short of the word count by 50 words.
- The arrow fell short of the target.
- We fell short of the money we needed for the trip by $20.
- The new film fell short of the book, my sister said.
- His apology fell short; he didn't say sorry to me.
- The school report said: "Sam's homework has sometimes fallen short of the expected standard."

### Note

Trap: softer than «failed», so a report saying «fell short» really means «not good enough». In maths, «fell short by 5» means 5 less than the target: target minus 5. Followed by «of» before the goal.