坠 (zhuì) means 'to fall' or 'to drop', typically from a height or in a downward motion. It is more formal and literary than 坠落 (zhuìluò), which is the common compound for falling objects; 塌 (tā) is for structures collapsing or ground sinking, not for objects falling. As a noun, it means 'pendant' or 'earring', but for earrings the everyday word is 耳环 (ěrhuán).