drop-off

1 of 2

noun

ˈdräp-ˌȯf 

1

: a very steep or perpendicular descent

2

: a marked dwindling or decline

a drop-off in attendance

3

: the act or an instance of making a usually brief deposit or delivery

drop-off points along the route

drop off

2 of 2

verb

ˌdräp-ˈȯf 

dropped off; dropping off; drops off

intransitive verb

: to fall asleep

Synonyms of drop-off

Noun

• decrease
• reduction
• drop
• decline
• dent

Examples of drop-off in a Sentence

Noun

the drop-off in movie attendance was the greatest in more than a decade

Verb

my interest in photography has dropped off over the years

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The company tracks audience drop-off in the first 30 seconds and whether viewers move on to Episode 2. — Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 9 Nov. 2026

The Montrose County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) said the body was found on the floor of the park’s Black Canyon, where many trails run along steep 2,000-foot drop-offs and access to the inner canyon is limited. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026

Verb

Shortly after reaching orbit, Starship dropped off 26 of the company’s most advanced Starlink satellites. — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2026

DownDetector, which tracks user reports of service issues globally, showed that connectivity losses peaked Thursday afternoon and dropped off substantially by Friday morning. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1812, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for drop-off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff