1. Although falls in older adults have been studied in a variety of settings, near falls (or almost falling) have received little or no attention--and therefore their clinical relevance is unknown. 2. Older adults were able to discriminate between near fall and actual fall events without difficulty. 3. Thirty-five percent of the older adults who participated in this study experienced near falls in the 3-weeks of data collection. Therefore, near falls are common events in the lives of many older adults.