fall behind

fall behind

1. To not be as current with some thing or task as one should or ideally would be. I fell behind with my schoolwork when I had the flu. I've fallen behind with that show—can you tell me what happened in the latest episode?
2. To be lacking comparison to others' progress. If you've fallen behind the other people in your math class, you need to get a tutor—exams are coming up.
3. To move or otherwise act more slowly than someone else. I fell behind her early in the race and could just never catch up.
4. To not be able to satisfy one's current financial obligations. All of those medical bills have caused me to fall behind on the rent.
See also: behind, fall
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fall behind

(in something) and fall behind (on something); fall behind (with something); get behind (in something); get behind (on something); get behind (with something) to lag behind schedule in some kind of work or some other scheduled activity. You are falling behind in your car payments. I tried not to get behind on them. Please don't fall behind with your payments. I won't fall behind again.
See also: behind, fall

fall behind

(someone or something) to lag behind someone or something. You have fallen behind everyone else in class. Our production fell behind that of the other production line.
See also: behind, fall

fall behind

(with something) Go to fall behind (in something).
See also: behind, fall
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

fall behind

Also, get behind.
1. Lag, fail to keep up, as in You really must keep up with the others; if you fall behind you could get lost. [First half of 1500s]
2. Be financially in arrears, as in He fell behind in his payments. [Mid-1800s]
See also: behind, fall
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

fall behind

v.
1. To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind: Despite a strong performance in the beginning, he fell behind in the second half of the race and finished last.
2. To fail to maintain a desired level of performance: She missed two classes and fell behind in her reading assignments.
3. To be financially in arrears: After losing my job, I fell behind on the mortgage payments.
See also: behind, fall
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • on (one's) six
  • on your six
  • run behind
  • drop behind
  • trail behind
  • get behind
  • get behind (someone or something)
  • get behind someone/something
  • get behind something
  • lie behind
References in periodicals archive
In many states, the lender can repossess your car without as much as a telephone call or written notice if you fall behind on one monthly payment.
The repo man cometh: the real deal on vehicle repossessions
Others fall behind. But these random changes cancel each other out.
Keeping up with the Trumps: how the middle class identifies with the rich
If we wait while the operating system factions fight it out, will we fall behind? And can we afford that without jeopardizing our competitive advantage or service to our clients?
Windows: has your firm converted to Windows?
As tough as the loss was, Jalalon shared that the first two games gave the Hotshots a huge lesson knowing that if they need to stun the Beermen anew, they couldn't let themselves fall behind big.
Jalalon admits just trying to mess with Santos' head during spat
"The next government must get a deal with Europe that protects current rights, like paid holidays, equal pay and fairness for agency workers, and it must guarantee a level playing field with the rest of Europe now and in the future, so working people in Britain don't fall behind our European neighbours," added Ms O'Grady.
TUC fears Brexit could erode rights of workers
Too many children fall behind and never catch up, and some secondary schools have become little more than exam factories, the Confederation of British Industry said.
'Cult of the average' is lambasted by CBI boss
And they were unfortunate to fall behind in the 16th minute, Lloyd Jones losing the flight of a long ball from Alfred Duncan to allow Francesco Forte to steal in.
REDS LOSE TO INTER IN OPENER
London, Aug 28 ( ANI ): Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong has said they must stop conceding goals to fall behind during matches, as they did in their first two games against Southampton and Liverpool.
De Jong says City needs to 'kick out' bad habit of falling behind
We showed that last season that we could fall behind and come back and we did it again against Barnsley.
Swans keen to sign Bates
If the government, instead of having a narrow focus on a limited number of targets for cancer, had looked more systematically at why cancer outcomes in Britain fall behind those of other European countries, they would have identified the need for earlier awareness of symptoms and earlier access to diagnosis years ago.
Cancer care has fallen behind Euro neighbours; letters@coventrytelegraph.net Letters letters@coventrytelegraph.net
NO child should be able to fall behind, says the Schools Minister as new Primary School Achievement and Attainment Tables are published.
'No child should fall behind'
Those that do fall behind with payments are getting tough treatment.
YOUR money: The BIG squeeze; BANKS END EASY LENDING AS OUR BAD DEBT MOUNTS
The Department for Education and Skills says the project will allow teachers and parents to keep a closer eye on progress and will make sure struggling children will get help sooner so they don't fall behind.
Pilot project to help pupils