drop

1 of 2

noun

ˈdräp

often attributive

Synonyms of drop next

a(1)

: the quantity of fluid that falls in one spherical mass

a drop of rain

(2)

drops plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops

eye drops for dilating the pupil of the eye

: a minute quantity or degree of something nonmaterial or intangible

not a drop of meanness in her

: a small quantity of drink

hasn't touched a drop of alcohol in three years

: the smallest practical unit of liquid measure

: something that resembles a liquid drop: such as

: a pendent ornament attached to a piece of jewelry

also : an earring with such a pendant

: a small globular cookie or candy

sucking on lemon drops

[drop entry 2]

: the act or an instance of dropping : fall

a sudden, short drop in an elevator

: a decline in quantity or quality

His income took a sudden drop.

a drop in demand

: a descent by parachute

also : the people or equipment dropped by parachute

expecting another drop this week

: a place or central depository to which something (such as mail, money, or stolen property) is brought for distribution or transmission

left the package at the drop

also : the act of depositing something at such a place

made the drop

: the distance from a higher to a lower level or through which something drops

It's a twenty-foot drop from the top of the fence.

a steep drop

electrical engineering : a decrease in electric potential (see potential entry 2 sense 2b)

: a slot into which something is to be dropped

[drop entry 2] : something that drops, hangs, or falls: such as

: a movable plate that covers the keyhole of a lock

: an unframed piece of cloth stage scenery

also : drop curtain

: a hinged platform on a gallows

: a fallen fruit

: the advantage of having an opponent covered (see cover entry 1 sense 1b(2)) with a firearm

broadly : advantage, superiority

—usually used in the phrase get the drop on

waiting to get the drop on me

: a move back from the line of scrimmage (as in preparation for making a forward pass)

a quick drop

drop

2 of 2

verb

dropped; dropping; drops

intransitive verb

: to fall in drops

a(1)

: to fall (see fall entry 1 sense 1a) unexpectedly or suddenly

The book dropped from her hand.

(2)

: to descend (see descend sense 1) from one line or level to another

the land drops to sea level

: to fall in a state of collapse (see collapse entry 2 sense 1b) or death

dropped from exhaustion

of a playing card : to become played by reason of the obligation to follow suit

: to fall or roll into a hole or basket

: to enter or pass as if without conscious effort of will (see will entry 2 sense 4a) into some state, condition, or activity

dropped into sleep

: to cease to be of concern : lapse

let the matter drop

: to pass from view or notice : disappear

—often used with out

drop out of sight

: to become less

production dropped

—often used with off

nautical : to move with a favoring wind or current

—usually used with down

We dropped down the harbor.

informal : to be released to the public

His latest solo album dropped in August …—

Ed Rampell

The second Podcast drops Nov. 14 and can be downloaded free …—

Langston Wertz, Jr.

There's also something to be said for jumping on a subscription for a month or two, say when a big, new game drops.—

Adam Rosenberg

transitive verb

: to let fall : cause to fall

dropped the ball

dropping bombs on the city

: give up sense 2, abandon

drop an idea

drop the charges

: discontinue

dropped what she was doing

: to break off an association or connection with : dismiss

drop her old friends

was dropped by his sponsors

students who dropped the class

: to utter or mention in a casual way

drop a suggestion

drop names

: write

drop us a line soon

: to lower or cause to descend from one level or position to another

drop the hem two inches

drop the water level

: to cause to lessen or decrease : reduce

dropped his speed

of an animal : to give birth to

: lose

dropped three games

dropped $50 in a poker game

: spend

drop $20 for lunch

: to get rid of

dropped 20 pounds

: to bring down with a shot or a blow

dropped the buck with one shot

dropping the world champion in the ring

card games : to cause a cardholder to unwillingly play (a high card)

dropped her ace

: to toss or roll into a hole or basket

drop a putt

: to deposit or deliver during a usually brief stop

—usually used with off

drop the kids off at school

: air-drop

drop the supplies to the medical team

: to cause (the voice) to be less loud

linguistics : to leave (a letter representing a speech sound) unsounded

drop the g in running

: to leave out in writing : omit

accidentally dropped a whole line

: to draw from an external point

drop a perpendicular to the line

: to take (a drug) orally : swallow

drop acid

computers : to place (an item on a computer screen) in one location in a graphical user interface after dragging it from another

Move the video to the desired location and release the mouse button to drop the file …—

Techsling

… you get a handy graphical representation of all your tasks and can even drag and drop them from one list to another …—

Jack Wallen

droppable

ˈdrä-pə-bəl

adjective

Phrases

at the drop of a hat

: as soon as the slightest provocation is given : immediately

loses her temper at the drop of a hat

drop in the bucket

: a part so small as to be negligible

drop a dime

: to inform authorities (such as the police) of another's wrongdoing

drop behind

: to fail to keep up

drop the ball

: to make a mistake especially by failing to take timely, effective, or proper action

Example Sentences

Noun He squeezed the bottle until a few drops came out. She doesn't have a single drop of selfishness in her. The poet wrings the last drop of meaning from every word. Verb Be careful not to drop the chair on your foot. She dropped the apple core into the trash can. They dropped bombs on the city. He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces. The player dropped the ball. The pen rolled to the edge of the table and dropped to the floor. The book dropped from my hand. The ball dropped between the right and center fielders. She was so tired she felt she would drop. He worked until he dropped. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As for Glendale’s Michael McDowell, it’s been an uphill battle from the drop of the green flag. —

Cole Cusumano, The Arizona Republic, 8 June 2023 The conservative group’s report also recommended allowing clerks to process absentee ballots before Election Day and establishing security requirements for ballot drop boxes. —

Journal Sentinel, 6 June 2023 Just 64 percent of the nation’s corn crop was rated good-to-excellent in the US Department of Agriculture’s weekly report, a 5 percentage-point decline that was the biggest since August 2020 and more than double the drop forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. —

BostonGlobe.com, 6 June 2023 Our under-18 population is actually shrinking per capita, down to 22% of the population -- a two percentage point drop. —

Nbc Universal, NBC News, 4 June 2023 Early morning rain chances and breezes are scant but don’t be surprised at a couple rain drops or a quick gust. —

A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 3 June 2023 The designer celebrated the drop with a fete in Los Angeles last night, where celebrity guests included Avril Lavigne, Tiffany Haddish, Evan Ross, Sara Sampaio, and Dascha Polanco. —

Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 2 June 2023 The watershed moment on Tuesday follows a legal saga that turned the former billionaire entrepreneur, who swore her startup could run hundreds of tests on a single drop of blood, into a symbol of excess and deception in Silicon Valley. —

Max Zahn, ABC News, 30 May 2023 Holmes was tried for falsely claiming that the company’s blood tests could rapidly scan for and detect a variety of conditions, including diseases, using only a few drops of blood. —

Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 May 2023

Verb

The book came out around the same time as Pamela, a Love Story dropped on Netflix—making 2023 Anderson's year to reclaim her narrative. —

Michael Stillwell, townandcountrymag.com, 11 June 2023 Those seats are also a prime vantage for the action on that ultra-short 15th, where the challenge of putting a tee shot near the pin is tantamount to dropping a lob wedge down a chimney. —

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2023 The interest rate cannot drop below zero, and the redemption value of your I bond can’t decline. —

Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 11 June 2023 Soldiers in helicopters dropped boxes of food for the children and played a recording of their grandmother telling them to stay in the same place during the rescue effort. —

Brie Stimson, Fox News, 11 June 2023 Sawa and Gilliam dropped down bunts in the sixth, and both runners reached on errors. —

Indystar Sports, The Indianapolis Star, 10 June 2023 The rate enhancement dropped to 5 percentage points starting April 1 and will be phased out gradually by the end of this year. —

Michael R. Wickline, Arkansas Online, 9 June 2023 Employee headcount also dropped year-over-year for Rocket to about 18,500 from 26,000. —

Jc Reindl, Detroit Free Press, 9 June 2023 And in 2019, AirDrop, which is effective only over short distances, was particularly popular among anti-government demonstrators in Hong Kong who regularly used the feature to drop colorful posters and artwork to subway passengers urging them to take part in protests. —

Laura He, CNN, 9 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Old English dropa; akin to Old High German tropfo drop

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of drop was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing drop

Cite this Entry

Style

“Drop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drop. Accessed 13 Jun. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

drop

1 of 2 noun

ˈdräp

: the quantity of fluid that falls naturally in one rounded mass

plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops

eye drops

: a small quantity of drink

: the smallest practical unit of liquid measure

: something (as a hanging ornament on jewelry or a round candy) shaped like a drop

: the act or an instance of dropping : fall

: a decline in quantity or quality

a drop in water pressure

a drop in prices

: a descent by parachute

: a place where something (as mail or goods) is left to be picked up

: the distance through which something drops

: an unframed piece of cloth scenery in a theater

: advantage sense 1

we've got the drop on them

drop

2 of 2 verb

dropped; dropping

: to fall or let fall in drops

: to let fall : cause to fall

dropped the book

: to reduce to a lower level or stage

dropped his speed

: send sense 1

drop me a line

: to stop doing, using, or considering

drop the subject

dropped everything and ran to the door

you can drop that idea

: to knock or shoot down

: to go lower

prices dropped

: to make a brief visit

drop in for a chat

: to pass into a less active state

drop off to sleep

: to move downward or with a current

: to leave (a letter standing for a speech sound) unsounded

drop the "g" in "running"

: to give birth to

the cow dropped her calf

Medical Definition

drop

1 of 2 noun

ˈdräp

: the quantity of fluid that falls in one spherical mass

drops plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops

eye drops for dilating the pupil of the eye

: the smallest practical unit of liquid measure that varies in size according to the specific gravity and viscosity of the liquid and to the conditions under which it is formed compare minim

drop

2 of 2 verb

dropped; dropping

intransitive verb

: to fall in drops

transitive verb

of an animal : to give birth to

lambs dropped in June

: to take (a drug) orally

drop acid