drop

noun, often attributive

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\ ˈdräp

Definition of drop

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(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

b : a minute quantity or degree of something nonmaterial or intangible not a drop of meanness in her

c : a small quantity of drink hasn't touched a drop of alcohol in three years

d : the smallest practical unit of liquid measure

2 : something that resembles a liquid drop: such as

a : a pendent ornament attached to a piece of jewelry also : an earring with such a pendant

b : a small globular cookie or candy sucking on lemon drops

3 [drop entry 2]

a : the act or an instance of dropping : fall a sudden, short drop in an elevator

b : a decline in quantity or quality His income took a sudden drop. a drop in demand

c : a descent by parachute also : the people or equipment dropped by parachute expecting another drop this week

d : 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

4a : 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

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

5 : a slot into which something is to be dropped

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

a : a movable plate that covers the keyhole of a lock

b : an unframed piece of cloth stage scenery also : drop curtain

c : a hinged platform on a gallows

d : a fallen fruit

7 : 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

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

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

verb

dropped; dropping

Definition of drop (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to fall in drops

2a(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

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

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

d : to fall or roll into a hole or basket

3 : 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

4a : to cease to be of concern : lapse let the matter drop

b : to pass from view or notice : disappear —often used with out drop out of sight

c : to become less production dropped —often used with off

5 nautical : to move with a favoring wind or current —usually used with down We dropped down the harbor.

6 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

1 : to let fall : cause to fall dropped the ball dropping bombs on the city

2a : give up sense 2, abandon drop an idea drop the charges

b : discontinue dropped what she was doing

c : to break off an association or connection with : dismiss drop her old friends was dropped by his sponsors students who dropped the class

3a : to utter or mention in a casual way drop a suggestion drop names

b : write drop us a line soon

4a : to lower or cause to descend from one level or position to another drop the hem two inches drop the water level

b : to cause to lessen or decrease : reduce dropped his speed

5 of an animal : to give birth to

6a : lose dropped three games dropped $50 in a poker game

b : spend drop $20 for lunch

c : to get rid of dropped 20 pounds

7a : to bring down with a shot or a blow dropped the buck with one shot dropping the world champion in the ring

b card games : to cause a cardholder to unwillingly play (a high card) dropped her ace

c : to toss or roll into a hole or basket drop a putt

8a : to deposit or deliver during a usually brief stop —usually used with off drop the kids off at school

b : air-drop drop the supplies to the medical team

9 : to cause (the voice) to be less loud

10a linguistics : to leave (a letter representing a speech sound) unsounded drop the g in running

b : to leave out in writing : omit accidentally dropped a whole line

11 : to draw from an external point drop a perpendicular to the line

12 : to take (a drug) orally : swallow drop acid

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

Other Words from drop Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about drop

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Synonyms & Antonyms for drop

Synonyms: Noun

Synonyms: Verb

Antonyms: Verb

Examples of drop in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Black students are also more likely to attend for-profit institutions, which are often accused of deceptive and predatory conduct, and have higher drop-out rates than most public and nonprofit schools. — Forbes, "Harvard Tells Biden: Don’t Use Us As An Excuse To “Water Down” Student Loan Forgiveness," 24 Feb. 2021 The drop-in center hosted a Malcom X brunch earlier this month and will showcase art during an event on Friday. — Zoë Jackson, Star Tribune, "Volunteers help Twin Cities homeless youth feel like royalty for a day," 24 Feb. 2021 With Indy offers weekly pickup, biweekly pickup and drop-off options for residents, and Earth Mama offers biweekly pickups. — London Gibson, The Indianapolis Star, "Scrub Hub: What local services will compost my food scraps?," 23 Feb. 2021 After logging into Facebook on your desktop or laptop, click the drop-down arrow in the upper righthand corner of your newsfeed. — Dana Rose Falcone, chicagotribune.com, "How to delete your Facebook profile," 23 Feb. 2021 Therefore, when Tyron Smith and/or La’el Collins inevitably get hurt in the future, Slater’s presence would give Dallas a viable tackle who should limit the drop-off the Cowboys usually see when Smith and/or Collins misses time. — John Owning, Dallas News, "7-round Cowboys mock draft: Dallas finds good defensive value on Day 2, a potential steal even later," 22 Feb. 2021 The company baked in drop-off detection software to recognize nearby steps and sudden declines in the pavement. — Washington Post, "Start-ups seek to breathe new life into stagnant wheelchair industry," 19 Feb. 2021 Cost is $8 for one drop-in class or $60 for a punch pass for 12 classes. — Linda Gandee, cleveland, "Winter fun hasn’t melted away in Avon Lake and North Ridgeville," 15 Feb. 2021 The drop-in event is free with admission to the museum, but requires advance registration at discoveryacton.org. — Diana Bravo, BostonGlobe.com, "Dance lessons, a new scholarship, and how to overcome odds," 26 Jan. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Police exchanged fire with Taylor while yelling at him to drop his gun. — Sara Tabin, The Salt Lake Tribune, "Police arrest man accused of shooting Provo police officer," 27 Feb. 2021 Police retreat down the apartment stairs, shouting for Marquez to talk to them and drop the gun. — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, "South Pasadena settles wrongful death lawsuit filed by mother of actress Vanessa Marquez," 22 Feb. 2021 Kayfabe, a dialect of pig Latin, lingo for the promise to drop at the laying on of hands. — Gregory Pardlo, The New Yorker, "Allegory," 22 Feb. 2021 Katello said many of his contacts like Maple Lake, Turtlehead Lake and Arrowhead, and drive out west to drop their lines at Shabbona Lake south of DeKalb. — Jeff Vorva, chicagotribune.com, "Ice fishing is the latest pastime to get a pandemic popularity boost: ‘People just want to get out’," 19 Feb. 2021 Temperatures in much of the state rarely drop below 5°C during the winter. — The Economist, "The Economist explains Why Texas is experiencing a winter freeze," 17 Feb. 2021 When his wife needed the car to drop their daughter at school, he was forced to carpool into work. — Elliot Ackerman, Wired, "2034, Part IV: The Spratly Islands Ambush," 16 Feb. 2021 Meanwhile, cases among long-term care facility residents continue to drop as increasing numbers of seniors most at risk of death and serious infections receive vaccinations. — Randy Ludlow, The Enquirer, "Gov. Mike DeWine says more COVID-19 vaccine doses coming in February and March," 4 Feb. 2021 The episodes drop each Wednesday and are paired with Spanish-language versions. — New York Times, "‘Anything for Selena’ Examines a Singer’s Legacy and Latino Identity," 2 Feb. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'drop.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

2 Mar 2021

Cite this Entry

“Drop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drop. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for drop

drop

noun

English Language Learners Definition of drop

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a very small amount of liquid that falls in a rounded shape

informal : a small amount of a drink

: a small amount of something (such as a quality)

drop

verb

English Language Learners Definition of drop (Entry 2 of 2)

: to let (something) fall

: to fall

: to lie down or fall down suddenly

See the full definition for drop in the English Language Learners Dictionary

drop

noun

\ ˈdräp

Kids Definition of drop

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a small amount of liquid that falls in a rounded shape

2 drops plural : liquid medicine measured by drops ear drops

3 : something (as a small round candy) that is shaped like a liquid drop

4 : a small amount I'll have just a drop of tea.

5 : the distance of a fall a 20-foot drop

6 : a decrease in amount or quality a drop in sales

7 : an act of delivering something : a place where something is left to be picked up a mail drop

drop

verb

dropped; dropping

Kids Definition of drop (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to fall or let fall often by accident I dropped my ice cream cone!

2 : to go down suddenly The cliff drops straight down.

3 : to go or make lower The temperature dropped. He dropped his voice.

4 : to become less or make less Business has dropped.

5 : lose sense 5

6 : disappear sense 1 They dropped out of sight.

7 : to stop or let end Let the matter drop.

8 : quit Don't drop out of school.

9 : to make a brief visit We dropped in on a friend.

10 : to deliver with a quick stop Mom dropped us off at school.

11 : send sense 1 Drop me a note.

drop off

: to fall asleep

drop

noun

\ ˈdräp

Medical Definition of drop

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : the quantity of fluid that falls in one spherical mass

b drops plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops eye drops for dilating the pupil of the eye

2 : 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

verb

dropped; dropping

Medical Definition of drop (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to fall in drops

transitive verb

1 of an animal : to give birth to lambs dropped in June

2 : to take (a drug) orally drop acid

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