Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The slow descent of minute particles of debris in the atmosphere following an explosion, especially the descent of radioactive debris after a nuclear explosion.
  • noun The particles that descend in this fashion.
  • noun An incidental result or side effect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun the radioactive particles that settle to the ground after a nuclear explosion.
  • noun the falling to the ground of radioactive particles lifted into the atmosphere by a nuclear explosion.
  • noun an incidental or unexpected effect, especially one which is undesirable, consequent to an event or process; ; -- usually used only in the singular.
  • noun (Med.), cant one selected from a group by some criterion.
  • noun cant one who fails to maintain the same pace as and lags behind a group of which s/he is a member.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The event of small airborne particles falling to the ground in significant quantities as a result of major industrial activity, volcano eruption, sandstorm, nuclear explosion, etc.
  • noun The particles themselves.
  • noun A negative side effect; an undesirable or unexpected consequence.
  • noun rare A declined offer in a sales transaction when acceptance was presumed.
  • noun rare The person who declines such an offer.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the radioactive particles that settle to the ground after a nuclear explosion
  • noun any adverse and unwanted secondary effect
  • verb leave (a barracks) in order to take a place in a military formation, or leave a military formation
  • verb come as a logical consequence; follow logically
  • verb have a breach in relations
  • verb come to pass
  • verb come off

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the verb fall out; fall +‎ out

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Examples

  • Another McCain fallout from the values summit - McCain forgot he voted to confirm three judges he said he would never nominate.

    Easter Lemming Liberal News 2008

  • LEMON: Well, we often use the term fallout to mean repercussions or consequences, but in this story we mean fallout.

    CNN Transcript Nov 28, 2006 2006

  • Gulf of Mexico in a sign energy companies are still willing to stake their future on deep-water projects despite uncertainty over fallout from the Gulf oil spill.

    Chevron's Profit Slips Isabel Ordonez 2010

  • A local furniture store and a handful of restaurants have gone out of business in recent weeks, blaming fallout from the spill.

    Spill Payments Irk Alabama Business Mike Esterl 2010

  • But many Western analysts now argue that Tehran's regional soft power has declined over the last couple of years, following the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, the fallout from the Islamic Republic's June 2009 presidential election, and the imposition of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities.

    Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett: Iran's "Soft Power" Increasingly Checks U.S. Power Flynt 2010

  • Yes, Obama is still Commander in Chief, and yes, the U.S. remains the world's sole superpower, but while foreign policy played nary a role in the midterm elections, the foreign policy fallout from the election drubbing is unavoidable.

    Amb. Marc Ginsberg: The Post Election Foreign Policy Hangover Amb. Marc Ginsberg 2010

  • An unexpected call for a no-confidence vote against Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung over his handling of a debt crisis at one of Vietnam's biggest state-owned firms shows that the political fallout from the country's worst-ever financial scandal might just be starting, analysts say.

    Vietnamese Premier Faces Fallout on Vinashin James Hookway 2010

  • The fallout from the Mexican "booze and hookers" party rumbles on, reports Milenio.

    Emotional 5th Street return for Muhammad Ali Richard Luscombe 2010

  • Due to the severe fallout from the terrorist attacks that came on the heels of the telecom and Internet industry implosions, virtually all non-critical spending stopped.

    Women Grow Business » Just Like That, the Market Shifted and So Did We 2009

  • There's no shortage of outrage directed at AIG today as the fallout from the bailed-out insurer's announcement that they intend to use $165 million in taxpayer money to pay bonuses to the very executives that ruined the company continues.

    Lawmakers, Regulators, Taxpayers Unbelievably Pissed At AIG - The Consumerist 2009

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