| 1. | the hypothetical fall of a body such that the only force acting upon it is that of gravity. |
| 2. | the part of a parachute jump that precedes the opening of the parachute. |
| 3. | a decline, esp. a sudden or rapid decline, as in value or prestige, that appears to be endless or bottomless: The economy was in a free fall all winter. |
[free-fawl] 
verb, -fell, -fall⋅en, -fall⋅ing, adjective, noun | 1. | (of parachutists) to descend initially, as for a designated interval, in a free fall: The jumpers were required to free-fall for eight seconds. |
| 2. | denoting or suggesting a free fall: a free-fall recession. |
| 3. | free fall (defs. 1, 2). |
| free fall or free-fall (frē'fôl') n.
|
free fall
A rapid, uncontrolled decline, as in The markets threatened to go into free fall and we came close to outright panic. This term transfers the aeronautical meaning of a free fall, that is, "a fall through the air without any impedance, such as a parachute," to other kinds of precipitous drop. [Second half of 1900s]
