Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell waterfall

Waterfall is spelled W-A-T-E-R-F-A-L-L. The part people get wrong: double L.

What it means: A steep descent of water in a river.

In a sentence: We had a picnic by the sparkling waterfall. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for double l.

Same family: water, fall, stream, cascade, rapids. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word “waterfall” is a simple English compound of “water” and “fall,” first recorded in the late Middle Ages. Older English texts sometimes used the word “cataract” for a large and powerful waterfall.

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