mic drop

noun

plural mic drops

: the act of dramatically dropping a microphone after a performance, speech, etc. (as to indicate that what one has said or done cannot be disputed or surpassed)

At his final Correspondents' Dinner as president in 2016, Obama famously finished his speech with a mic drop.

—Stacy M. Brown

The mic drop … is meant to indicate that you have just been so funny, so show-stopping and irrefutable that the final word has been had. There is no further need of a microphone, for you or anyone else.

—Zoe Williams

Did [Eddie] Murphy and his fellow comedians borrow the mic drop from hip-hop? … In Eric B. and Rakim's classic single "I Ain't No Joke," Rakim boasts, "I used to let the mic smoke / Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke." According to Rakim, he does it so that nobody will step up and "mess up the scene."

—Forrest Wickman

also, figurative : something that is indisputable or unsurpassable : something that is worthy of a mic drop

But nothing could do this book justice so all I'm going to say is that it's the ultimate mic drop for this 21st century Shakespeare.

—Kate Farrell

But Harris delivered the real mic drop when she pointed out that she was the only candidate of color at the second night debate.

—Shelby Black

They saw fifth-year senior Ja'Shon Henry's farewell game, a mic-drop moment in which he hurled down a violent, emotional dunk that ignited the crowd with 1:23 left.

—Dave Eminian

—sometimes used interjectionally

Mic drop. We applaud these world leaders for calling out sexism when they hear it.

—Stephanie Ruhle

Examples of mic drop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Is that the island version of a mic drop? Throwing a hail Mary to keep the plan in tact, Jordan offered Mitchell a darn good deal. —Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024

All is not lost, though, and this might actually be an inspired moment for a meaningful mic drop, or crushing it at the local poetry slam. —Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2024

Having won his third Super Bowl ring Sunday, the 34-year-old Kelce could finish his career with a win-it-all mic drop, the way quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning did. —Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024

Enninful’s British Vogue mic drop Feb. 8, 2024 NewsletterFridays Book Club Our weekly selection of book reviews and recommendations from Book World editor Ron Charles. —Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024

The performance ended with a dramatic mic drop and Cyrus strutting off the stage. —Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 5 Feb. 2024

Which makes his mic drop at the end of Natural Selection arguably the funniest part of the special. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

2007, in the meaning defined above