needle drop

noun

plural needle drops

1

: the dropping of needles by a conifer (such as a spruce, yew, or pine)

Fall needle drop occurs each year …

—Deborah Brown

2

: a popular song used in a film or television show for dramatic effect

… heavy metal needle drops add a flourish to sword fights …

—Robert Daniels

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

needle-drop scores

Examples of needle drop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This whole idea, in general, of doing a James Gunn impression, with space bar fights and needle drops during slow-motion circular spinning fight scenes. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026

From his first Guardians of the Galaxy movie on, Gunn established himself as the master of the movie soundtrack and the all-important needle drop, earning praise for finding the right song and dropping it at the right time. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026

But without any needle drops, The Bear doesn’t feel or sound like itself. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026

The Envelope recently spoke with six music supervisors about their favorite needle drops from their own series. — Kara Warner, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026

Here, Malone breaks down some of the show’s key needle drops. — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 26 May 2026

But even now, their quest for the perfect needle drop eludes predictable pathways. — Hugh Hart, IndieWire, 23 May 2026

There remains one elusive needle drop, however. — Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for needle drop

• barbershop
• countertop
• lollipop
• mountaintop
• photoshop
• tabletop
• turboprop
• atop
• backdrop
• backstop
• bebop
• blacktop