down·fall /ˈdaʊnˌfɔl/
 下降;垮臺,陷落


 Down·fall n.
 1. A sudden fall; a body of things falling.
    Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid.   --Holland.
    Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour.   --Dryden.
 2. A sudden descent from rank or state, reputation or happiness; destruction; ruin; as, the senator's unrestrained sexual escapades led to his downfall.
    Dire were the consequences which would follow the downfall of so important a place.   --Motley.

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 downfall
      n 1: failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
           [syn: ruin, ruination]
      2: the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or
         hail or sleet or mist) [syn: precipitation]
      3: a sudden decline in strength or number or importance; "the
         fall of the House of Hapsburg" [syn: fall] [ant: rise]