To drop away from the wind; when a vessel is hove to she is said to fall off if her head falls to leeward, in opposition to coming to; also when a vessel yaws to windward of her course and then falls off to her course or to leeward of it. Not used in the sense of breaking off, which means when the wind comes more ahead and causes an alteration in the direction of a vessel's head to leeward of a course she had previously been sailing.