as in disasters
something that has failed
the movie is such a flop that theaters showing it are the loneliest places in town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in collapses
to be unsuccessful
the attempt to run the ball into the end zone flopped, and our team lost by five points
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in flaps
to move or cause to move with a striking motion
a fish flopping around on the dock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flops
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 20 May 2026
The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1947, was Lerner and Loewe’s first hit after a string of flops and fizzles.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
There’ve been monumental hits and equally giant flops.
—Darryn King, Vanity Fair, 19 May 2026
One of Sisto’s favorite ways to incorporate color is through accessories like the Project Cloud Flip-flops in a bold red, which add an effortless statement to otherwise simple outfits.
—Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2026
There have been hits from both the indie and major studio, but the number of flops has far outnumberd the success stories.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 11 May 2026
After Game 2 between the Thunder and Lakers, which was full of flops once again, Austin Reaves and the entire Lakers team confronted the officials after their 18-point loss.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
She was last seen wearing a black tank top, black yoga pants with studs on the outside, brown sunglasses, and size 9 Nike zebra print flip flops.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 7 May 2026
Sandals posted growth in both dollars and units, led by slides and flip–flops.
—Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
Devon Henderson, New York Times, 4 May 2026
One of the best bigs in [expletive] basketball history flops.
—Matt Schooley, CBS News, 4 May 2026
Fortunately for shareholders, the stock grants come with a feature similar to equity options that somewhat reduces Musk’s payday, especially in a case like the one above where the plan flops.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2025
Amina blows her mom a kiss and then flops down in her crib, pretending to be asleep.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
At one point, Alex comes over to recheck his map and, seeing Rizo attempt to analyze his work, flops over on the puzzle, causing Rizo to pause.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
The second story revolves around another filmmaker, Elsa (Bárbara Lennie), who had directed a couple of feature flops and is instead now using her talents in advertising and commercials.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 20 May 2026
The show, which premiered on Broadway in 1947, was Lerner and Loewe’s first hit after a string of flops and fizzles.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
There’ve been monumental hits and equally giant flops.
—Darryn King, Vanity Fair, 19 May 2026
One of Sisto’s favorite ways to incorporate color is through accessories like the Project Cloud Flip-flops in a bold red, which add an effortless statement to otherwise simple outfits.
—Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2026
There have been hits from both the indie and major studio, but the number of flops has far outnumberd the success stories.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 11 May 2026
After Game 2 between the Thunder and Lakers, which was full of flops once again, Austin Reaves and the entire Lakers team confronted the officials after their 18-point loss.
—Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
She was last seen wearing a black tank top, black yoga pants with studs on the outside, brown sunglasses, and size 9 Nike zebra print flip flops.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 7 May 2026
Sandals posted growth in both dollars and units, led by slides and flip–flops.
—Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 4 May 2026
Verb
Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in f—ing basketball history, flops.
—Devon Henderson, New York Times, 4 May 2026
One of the best bigs in [expletive] basketball history flops.
—Matt Schooley, CBS News, 4 May 2026
Fortunately for shareholders, the stock grants come with a feature similar to equity options that somewhat reduces Musk’s payday, especially in a case like the one above where the plan flops.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 Nov. 2025
Amina blows her mom a kiss and then flops down in her crib, pretending to be asleep.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
At one point, Alex comes over to recheck his map and, seeing Rizo attempt to analyze his work, flops over on the puzzle, causing Rizo to pause.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flops
Noun
-
Mining disasters are common in China, where rapid industrialization came with intense resource exploitation, poor working conditions and a weak regulatory framework.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 May 2026
-
Mining disasters have been common although authorities had implemented measures to improve safety over the past years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
After Hancock waits an hour or so for the drone to descend, the moment arrives and the drone plops Hancock’s syrup directly onto the concrete, which isn’t a good sign.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
16 Apr. 2026
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The series’ opening scene plops audiences in the middle of the Dardanos’ dysfunction, as Linda, presiding over her own mother’s hospital room, screeches that her children should bear witness to their terminally ill nonna’s final days—even to her urinary incontinence.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And Artificial Integrity collapses when ethical purpose, moral recognition, and social legitimacy become internally deficient or mutually incompatible.—
Hamilton Mann,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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The other satellite system, NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), typically uses radar imaging to continually map and track changes across the Earth’s surface, including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and ice sheet collapses.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
The structure flaps its wings when powered by electricity.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
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View gallery - 7 images A wooden dragon sculpture that gently flaps its wings has become a crowd-funding hit, but after seeing the traditional handcrafted work that's been put into every single model, making each one unique, the value of such a piece becomes strikingly clear.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Yet those cables currently carry less than 1 percent of global international bandwidth, according to TeleGeography, a telecom research firm, and the network as a whole is engineered to route around routine failures.—
Ramin Skibba,
Scientific American,
27 May 2026
-
That gap explains a large share of AI failures.—
Usman Shuja,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Overthrows and underthrows and tosses otherwise off target.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
27 May 2026
-
Flo Rida tosses a rose offstage during a performance in Oslo, Norway, on May 20.—
People Staff,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Verb
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Biomimicry often fails when the design is too large, Hassanalian says, but is most efficient on the microscale.—
Tom Brown,
Space.com,
25 May 2026
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Between her thirst-trap selfies and fabulous rendezvous, the 84-year-old never fails to deliver in the content department.—
Kyra Surgent,
InStyle,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
Iran’s flag before the 1979 revolution — green, white and red with a lion and a rising sun — flutters from many overhangs.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel (center) flutters a Venezuelan and Cuban national flags in support of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Havana.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
3 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flops.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flops. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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