Used in a Sentence

befell

Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for befell.

Editorial note

And the US has a great history of absorbing immigrants and facing the problems that have befell it.

Examples16
Definitions3
Parts of speech1

Quick take

(intransitive) To happen.

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of befell gathered in one view.

verb

(intransitive) To happen.

verb

(transitive) To happen to.

verb

(transitive) To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for befell.

verb

(intransitive) To happen.

verb

(transitive) To happen to.

verb

(transitive) To fall upon; fall all over; overtake.

Example sentences

1

And the US has a great history of absorbing immigrants and facing the problems that have befell it.

2

Not to mention the fact that because of it's deprecation many completely ridiculous bugs befell it in later releases.

3

Alas, it's sad when you consider the fate which befell both the game series and the company.

4

It's not terrible, probably not that different from various mishaps which befell printed photo albums, etc.

5

Before that fate befell him, my grandmother founded one of the first schools for children with intellectual disabilities in her state.

6

Don't let the signal-to-noise ratio of Hacker News fall into the tragedy of the commons that befell the reddit front page.

7

Frankly, I think that Maoism befell China is a tragic mistake, even if the outcome has lately been positive.

8

They just don't see it yet, as they didn't see the win that befell them when they lost the war against the VCR.

9

I fear the quality of macOS is deteriorating today in the same manner than befell OSX Server.

10

However, every harm that befell him was actually due to other parties that operate completely out in the open, but they manage to escape your blame!

11

Damn, SGI is right there with Digital in the category of amazing companies that brought us amazing advances and didn't deserver the fate that befell them.

12

What disaster befell your friend after those three months?

Quote examples

1

My biggest concern is the "slippery slope" and the "tragedy of the commons" that befell reddit.

2

So by the "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" logic he had to have something to hide, and that thing had to justify the negative consequences that befell him.

3

Of course, when interviewed about it on Bloomberg West, Sarah Lacy was certain that this was a "plan" and not a hypothetical, but could produce no evidence of any actions taken or pinpoint any harm that befell her or her sleeping children.

4

(Japan of course modeling itself on Imperial Germany, and hoping to keep itself out of the the hands Western imperialism, as befell China and India.) Of course, it's also possible to rank "riches" by GDP, in which case Qatar is the clear winner, since it became a high income economy only since the 1950s.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.

How do you use befell in a sentence?

And the US has a great history of absorbing immigrants and facing the problems that have befell it.

What does befell mean?

(intransitive) To happen.

What part of speech is befell?

befell is commonly used as verb.