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Definition of "pratfall" [pratfall]

  • A fall on the buttocks. (noun)
  • A humiliating error, failure, or defeat: "His characters not only survive their snarled problems and pratfalls but learn from their experiences” ( Joyce Carol Oates). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "pratfall" in a sentence
  • "True that, somehow, a pratfall is always funnier than a straight walk, even on a high wire."
  • "Or consider what psychologists call the "pratfall effect": Attractive people, it turns out, become more attractive if they commit a blunder."
  • "If you can’t tell a joke without yelling into the mic or making some kind of pratfall, then I suggest you invest your money well, you’ll need it very soon and for a long time. —"