breaking one's fall

Verb

break one's fall (third-person singular simple present breaks one's fall, present participle breaking one's fall, simple past broke one's fall, past participle broken one's fall)

1. To provide alleviation to prevent someone from slamming into the ground at full speed; to prevent someone from hitting the ground too hard at the end of a fall.
   • A pile of leaves broke my fall when I slipped off the roof of the shed.