drop

noun, often attributive

\ 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 [ ²drop ]

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 [ ²drop ] : 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.

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

bead, blob, driblet, drip, droplet, glob, globule

Synonyms: Verb

depress, lower, throw, throw down

Antonyms: Verb

lift, pick up, raise

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

Tiny metallic drops of blood trailed down the entire thing from the central red heart. — Kate Young, Vogue, "Inside Stylist Kate Young’s Star-Studded Met Gala Prep," 10 May 2019 The eye rolls and jaw drops are part of what makes Riverdale so addictive and fun. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Netflix’s The Society Is a Creepier Version of Gossip Girl—and I Can’t Stop Watching," 10 May 2019 The next step is a lightweight self-tanning face drop from James Read. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Watch Brooklyn Decker's Six-Step Nightly Skincare Routine," 1 May 2019 Imagine a drop-dead-chic vacation home nestled on a cliff overlooking the ocean… pretty nice, right? — Michele Petry, House Beautiful, "This House Has an Inverted Roof That Can Be Used as a Pool," 30 Apr. 2019 In conclusion, Taylor is continuing to intensely reject the surprise album drop era ushered in by Beyoncé, instead preferring to protract what is probably an album rollout until her typical release months of October/November. — Claire Dodson, Teen Vogue, "Taylor Swift's Cryptic Social Media Clues Have Reached a Breaking Point," 23 Apr. 2019 March-April If crabgrass is present, use a walk-behind drop spreader to apply a pre-emergence crabgrass preventative agent. — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, "How to Get Rid of Lawn Weeds," 19 Apr. 2019 Stir together food coloring and 2 drops water in a bowl. — Emily Nabors Hall, Country Living, "Speckled Malted Coconut Cake," 8 Mar. 2019 Before that, airlines like Delta and British Airways were experimenting with using biometric tech to speed up things like boarding and bag drops. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "Hertz plans slightly speedier rentals using facial recognition and fingerprints," 11 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

People have been pressuring the university to drop the contracts since last year, when a 2,000-signature petition was organized. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "7 Arrested by Baltimore Police, Breaking Up Monthlong Johns Hopkins Protests Against Private Police, ICE Contracts," 8 May 2019 Climb past that threshold and the odds drop to 30 percent. — Hannah Selinger, Glamour, "I Spent $17K Freezing Eggs—And I Regret Every Penny," 22 Apr. 2019 Expect the first episode to drop on Showtime on Sunday, June 30, at 10 p.m. eastern. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "The Loudest Voice," 18 Apr. 2019 By Sunday, temperatures in the central and eastern parts of the country could drop to 10 to 25 degrees colder than normal. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "A Polar Vortex Split Is Bringing Snow and Brutal Winter Weather to Much of the U.S.," 16 Jan. 2019 After peaking as the App Store’s second most downloaded app back in February 2018, HQ Trivia dropped to 253rd most popular in November, and in December the company suspended its service in the UK. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "HQ Trivia becomes HQ Trivia & Words as second game exits beta," 24 Dec. 2018 The next hammer to drop on 3ve came in an indictment unsealed last month. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "How 3ve’s BGP hijackers eluded the Internet—and made $29M," 21 Dec. 2018 But being able to drop your bags and freshen up seems like Airbnb's best shot of meeting hotel perks in the middle, Jackson says. — Meredith Carey, Condé Nast Traveler, "Airbnb’s ‘Superguest’ Program: The Benefits We Want to See," 18 Dec. 2018 In advance of the hearing, 60 groups including dozens of leading human rights organizations signed a letter calling on Pichai to drop all design and development of the tool. — Shirin Ghaffary, Recode, "Google CEO Sundar Pichai refused to rule out launching a censored search engine in China," 11 Dec. 2018

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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Dictionary Entries near drop

Statistics for drop

Last Updated

15 May 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for drop

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

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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