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
dropped off; dropping off; drops off
: to fall asleep
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
Fred Katz, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Tenzing–Hillary Airport — Lukla, Nepal This airport is something of a gateway to Mount Everest, Lukla’s 527-meter (1,729 feet) runway combines a steep gradient, a mountain wall backdrop, and a valley drop-off that removes the possibility of a go-around, forcing pilots to commit fully to landing.
—Karina Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026
The part-time position aids in the district in fulfilling its responsibility to the community as related to the composting, bulb recovery, battery recycling, drop off recycling and/or electronics recycling programs, a release stated.
—Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for drop-off
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Noun
The Knicks have their backup center on a regimented resting plan, and because of that, people within the team don’t seem worried about the drop-off in Robinson’s defensive output thus far.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Tenzing–Hillary Airport — Lukla, Nepal This airport is something of a gateway to Mount Everest, Lukla’s 527-meter (1,729 feet) runway combines a steep gradient, a mountain wall backdrop, and a valley drop-off that removes the possibility of a go-around, forcing pilots to commit fully to landing.
—Karina Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Verb
But when the bus pulled up to a migrant shelter in the border city of Laredo, dropping off a half-dozen families lugging bags stuffed with belongings, the stress of recent weeks tracked mother and daughter like the long shadows on that mid-February afternoon.
—Arkansas Online, 1 Mar. 2026
The part-time position aids in the district in fulfilling its responsibility to the community as related to the composting, bulb recovery, battery recycling, drop off recycling and/or electronics recycling programs, a release stated.
—Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for drop-off
Cite this Entry
“Drop-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drop-off. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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