fall out with — quarrel (Murphy Additional Exercises, Phrasal verbs)
Pattern
Section titled “Pattern”fall out with [someone] = quarrel / have a disagreement, stop being friendly.
- Steve fell out with his boss. (quarreled with him)
- I fell out with my best friend.
- She fell out with her sister over money.
The preposition is out with (two words — particle + preposition), a fixed unit.
The “fall” family (don’t confuse)
Section titled “The “fall” family (don’t confuse)”| Phrasal | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| fall out with | quarrel with | He fell out with his boss. |
| fall out (of) | drop from a container | The keys fell out of my pocket. |
| fall behind | fail to keep pace | He fell behind in his studies. |
| fall through | fail to happen (plan) | The deal fell through. |
| fall for | be deceived / fall in love | I fell for his lies. / She fell for him. |
| fall apart | break into pieces / collapse | The plan fell apart. |
| fall back on | rely on in emergency | I fell back on my savings. |
Test application
Section titled “Test application”Steve was very happy in his job until he fell ___ his boss. After that, it was difficult for them to work together.
Answer: out with — fell out with his boss = quarreled. The context (“difficult to work together after that”) = they had a falling-out.
Why not the others?
- out with ✓ — quarrel with
- for, on, up, back, about, forward, to — none form a sensible “fell ___ his boss” phrase (fell for his boss = fell in love — but the context is a quarrel, not romance)
Source
Section titled “Source”Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use (4th ed.), Additional Exercises — Phrasal verbs (Units 137-145). Ebot lesson 2026-08-29: “until he fell ___ his boss” → out with (quarrel).