drop

Formsdrops, dropping, dropped

Pluraldrops

1. 1
   let fall (hand)verbfigurativelytransitive

   To let something fall, either by releasing your hold on it or losing your grip.

   The waiter dropped a tray of glasses in the busy restaurant.

   Hikers should never drop litter along the trail.

   UsageUse drop when someone lets a thing go: I dropped my phone (not incorrect: I fell my phone). The thing itself falls or drops.

   Oppositecatch, lift

2. 2
   bit of liquidnounfigurativelycountable

   A small amount of liquid that holds a round shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source.

   A single drop of dew clung to the leaf in the morning light.

   Drops of sweat rolled down his forehead during the race.

   UsageUsually a drop of plus the liquid: a drop of rain, drops of sweat.

   Similardroplet, bead, drip

   Note

   Thomas Tate's 1864 paper weighs the largest drop a flat surface can form, at about 2.1 grains of water. That is the physicist's version of this sense. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Thomas Tate's paper was published in 1864 and reported a maximum water-drop weight of 2.10 grains from a flat surface. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   verbintransitive

   To become lower or less in amount, value, degree, or level, or to make something lower or less.

   Stock values can drop sharply when investors panic.

   Her grades dropped during a difficult semester.

   UsageUse by for the amount and to for the new level: prices dropped by 10 percent to five dollars.

   Similarfall, decline, decrease, dip, plunge

   Oppositerise, increase, climb, soar

4. 4
   a declinenouncountable

   A decline in quality, quantity, degree, or rate.

   Economists noted a sharp drop in consumer spending.

   The sudden drop in attendance worried the organizers.

   UsageUsually a drop in something: a sharp drop in sales, a drop in temperature.

   Similarfall, reduction, cut, dip, decline

   Oppositerise, increase, growth

5. 5
   stop taking partverbtransitive

   To cancel or stop taking part in a scheduled course, event, or project.

   Many students drop courses they find too demanding.

   She dropped her chemistry class after the first week because the schedule clashed with her job.

   UsageCommon with school courses: drop a class, drop chemistry. Drop out of school means leaving it completely.

   Similarquit, abandon

6. 6
   deliververbtransitive

   To set down a person or thing from a vehicle, or to stop briefly and leave something at a place.

   The driver dropped his passengers outside the terminal.

   I'll drop the package at your office on my way.

   UsageOften with off: drop someone off at the station. Plain drop me at the station is also common.

   Similarleave, deposit, deliver

   Oppositecollect

7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To stop including, using, or keeping someone or something; to remove, abandon, or dismiss them, as from a list, team, or schedule.

   The company chose to drop the unprofitable product line.

   She dropped her maiden name after the wedding.

   UsageUse from for the group or list: dropped from the team, dropped from the schedule.

   Similarabandon, discard, remove, scrap, cut

   Oppositekeep, retain, include, add

8. 8
   verbfigurativelyintransitive

   To fall or move quickly downward, straight down or suddenly to the ground.

   The anchor dropped through the dark water to the seabed.

   Ripe apples drop from the branches and gather beneath the tree.

   Similarfall, plunge, plummet, sink, descend

   Oppositerise, ascend, climb

9. 9
   visit casuallyverbintransitive

   To visit someone or somewhere casually, without arranging it beforehand, usually with 'by', 'in', or 'into'.

   Old friends often drop by unannounced on weekends.

   He dropped into the cafe to see if she was working.

   UsageUsually with a particle: drop by a place, drop in on a person, drop into a room.

   Similarpop, stop, call

   Note

   The American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897) has a friend who "used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke." The tone is unplanned and friendly: Do drop by soon is an invitation, not an appointment.

10. 10
    a fallnouncountable

    A movement downward under the force of gravity; a descent or fall.

    The roller coaster's first drop left everyone screaming.

    A series of sudden drops in the cable car alarmed the passengers.

    Similarfall

    Oppositerise, climb, ascent

11. 11
    stop discussingverbtransitive

    To stop concerning yourself with someone or something; to have nothing more to do with a subject or discussion.

    I wish you would drop the matter entirely.

    She dropped the topic as soon as her boss walked in.

    UsageOften an order or a request: drop it!, drop the subject. Let's drop it ends a discussion.

    Similarabandon, forget, leave

    Oppositepursue

    Note

    Here what is let go is a matter, not an object: drop the subject, drop the pursuit, and the curt Just drop it! People can be the object too. Thackeray writes of the ease with which fine ladies "drop you and pick you up again." Samuel Sharp's "They suddenly dropt the pursuit" (1739) shows dropt, the past-tense spelling now archaic. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Thackeray wrote the quoted words about fine ladies dropping and resuming acquaintances. gutenberg.org
    • The quotation 'They suddenly dropt the pursuit' is attributed to Samuel Sharp in 1739. en.wiktionary.org
    • The work cited for Sharp's quotation was first published in 1739. en.wikipedia.org
    • Dropt is an archaic past-tense spelling of drop. en.wiktionary.org
12. 12
    release publiclyverbcolloquialtransitive

    To release a song, album, video game, or piece of software to the public.

    The label plans to drop the album across all streaming platforms at midnight.

    Independent developers often drop their games directly to players online.

    UsageAlso used without an object: the album drops Friday.

    Similarrelease, launch

    Note

    The industry's casual word for putting something out: a label drops an album, a developer drops an update, a network drops a series. The verb can also mean publishing what was never meant to be public. To drop someone's docs is to expose their personal information.

13. 13
    send a noteverbtransitive

    To send a letter, email, or message in a quick, casual way; originally, to let it fall into a mailbox.

    She dropped him a quick note before leaving for the airport.

    Just drop us a line if you need anything.

    UsageTakes a person and the message: drop me a line, drop her an email.

    Similarsend, write, shoot

14. 14
    nouncountable

    The vertical distance one could fall from the edge of a cliff or other height; by extension, a steep slope.

    The trail narrowed beside a sheer drop of several hundred feet.

    A guardrail protects hikers from the drop into the gorge.

    Similarfall, plunge, precipice

15. 15
    nounfigurativelycountableplural

    A liquid medicine applied a few drops at a time, such as eye drops or ear drops, or one such dose.

    The pharmacist recommended saline drops for the irritation.

    My allergist told me to put a single drop in each eye every morning, and the itching soon stopped.

    UsageYou put drops in your eyes or ears: one drop in each eye.

    Note

    Here drops names the preparation itself, the bottle on the shelf, and it is usually plural and named for where it goes: ear drops, eye drops. The plural works like a product name, so saline drops are one medicine, not many.

16. 16
    pick-up pointnouncountable

    A pick-up point where items are left for someone else to collect, either openly, as with mail, or covertly or illegally, as in espionage or crime.

    The courier left the package at a secure drop near the lobby.

    Agents arranged a hidden drop in the park for exchanging documents.

    Note

    Here the word means the place, not the act of delivering: a spy makes a drop at a drop. Criminal usage gives it a fuller sense. A 1974 United States Senate committee on small business describes a drop as a warehouse, apartment or garage where stolen goods are stored, and where workers called loaders take the merchandise off the truck.

17. 17
    pass intoverbintransitive

    To pass or sink into a particular state or condition.

    Tired travelers often drop into a heavy sleep the moment they sit down.

    The room dropped into silence when the judge entered.

    UsageUsually drop into a state or drop off: drop into silence, drop off to sleep.

    Similarfall, sink, lapse, slip, drift

18. 18
    nounfigurativelycountable

    A tiny amount of a drink or other liquid; by extension, a tiny amount of anything, including a quality or feeling.

    He hasn't touched a drop since the doctor warned him about his liver.

    The landlord showed not a drop of sympathy when the pipes burst.

    UsageCommon in negatives: not a drop of water, not a drop of sympathy. Hasn't touched a drop usually means hasn't drunk any alcohol.

    Similarbit, dash, hint, dab, grain

19. 19
    verbtransitive

    To lose a game, match, or other contest, often when the loss comes as a surprise.

    Nobody expected the champions to drop a game to the last-place team.

    The top seed dropped the opening set to an unranked teenager.

    UsageTakes the game or set as object: drop a game to a weaker team, drop the first set.

    Similarlose

    Oppositewin

    Note

    A sports-page verb that began in American English: teams drop games, players drop sets or points, a boxer drops a decision. The loss is often a surprise, which fits a verb that pictures a win slipping out of the hand. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The sports sense meaning to lose a contest originated in American English. en.wiktionary.org
20. 20
    verbslangtransitive

    To let go of a sum of money, whether by spending it, losing it, or handing it over some other way.

    Tourists can easily drop a few hundred dollars on a single dinner in that neighborhood.

    He dropped his whole paycheck at the poker table on Friday night.

    UsageTakes the sum, with on for what it buys: drop fifty dollars on a shirt.

    Similarspend, blow, lose

    Note

    Spending sounds as easy as opening a hand in this slang. The offhand tone suits a splurge; Lisa Reardon's Blameless (2000) has a narrator in no position to be "dropping twenties like gumdrops". Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Lisa Reardon wrote Blameless, published in 2000. gvsuspecialcollections.wordpress.com
    • The quotation is the narrator's description of spending money. en.wiktionary.org
21. 21
    nouncountable

    In video games and online games, an item that a defeated enemy leaves behind for the player to collect.

    Players farm the swamp troll for hours because its drop sometimes includes a rare crafting gem.

    Early enemies' drops are rarely worth more than a handful of gold.

    Similarloot

    Note

    The noun comes straight from the action: a beaten enemy drops the item, so the item is a drop, and players also say a rare sword drops from a boss. Talk of drops runs to rare drops, a boss's drops and the drop rate, which is the chance that a given item appears when that kind of enemy goes down.

22. 22
    noun

    A team's relegation from one division of a league to a lower one, usually used with the, as in fighting the drop.

    The club spent the final month of the season fighting the drop.

    Even a tie on Saturday would keep the team clear of the drop.

    UsageGoes with fight, avoid or escape: avoid the drop, escape the drop.

    Similarrelegation

    Oppositepromotion

    Note

    Leagues stacked in divisions give the word its home: at the end of a season the bottom teams go down a level, and the best from the division below come up to replace them. The move in the other direction is promotion. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Lower-ranked teams are relegated at the season’s end and replaced by teams promoted from the division below. premierleague.com
    • Moving to a higher division is called promotion. en.wikipedia.org
23. 23
    verbintransitive

    To lose ground and end up behind a group, or at its rear, because of not keeping pace with those in front.

    By the tenth mile, a handful of runners had dropped well behind the leaders.

    Slower riders tend to drop to the rear as the climb gets steeper.

    UsageUsually drop behind or drop back: dropped behind the leaders.

    Similarfall, lag, slip, trail

24. 24
    verbtransitive

    To bring something lower, either by moving it down or by letting it hang downward.

    She dropped her gaze to the floor as soon as the judge looked her way.

    The tailor offered to drop the hem an inch so the skirt would reach her knees.

    UsageCommon with eyes, arms, and hems: drop your gaze, drop your arms, drop the hem.

    Similarlower

    Oppositeraise, lift

    Note

    Unlike letting something fall, this kind of dropping keeps hold: the thing moves down but stays attached and under control, as with eyes, a hem or a raised arm. Lowered eyes can show unease. In Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (1934) a stare seems to abash Poirot, and he drops his eyes and starts fiddling with the papers in front of him. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Lowered eyes can express emotional discomfort. frontiersin.org
    • Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express, first published as a book in 1934. agathachristie.com
    • The narrator says the stare only seemed to abash Poirot; his lowered eyes and fiddling are accurately described. by-the-way.fr
25. 25
    verbslangtransitive

    To take a drug by mouth, most often LSD, and especially in the phrase drop acid.

    In the documentary, the drummer admits the band used to drop acid before shows.

    Someone at the festival had dropped two pills and ended up in the medical tent.

    UsageCommon combinations include drop acid and drop pills. For neutral wording, use take.

    Similartake, pop

26. 26
    verbtransitive

    To leave out a letter, syllable, or similar unit when writing or, more often, when speaking.

    Fast talkers often drop their g's, so going becomes goin'.

    The scribe had dropped a whole syllable, turning the name into something unrecognizable.

    UsageThe object names what is left out: drop a letter, drop a syllable. With sounds, a possessive is common: drop their h's.

    Similaromit, skip

    Note

    What linguists call elision, everyday English calls dropping. Two patterns take their names from the verb, h-dropping and g-dropping, and linguists use those labels too, so the plain word and the technical one sit side by side. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Elision is the linguistic term for omitting speech sounds. martinweisser.org
    • H-dropping names the deletion of the h sound. en.wikipedia.org
    • The name g-dropping refers to a g disappearing from the written representation. en.wikipedia.org
    • Linguists use both h-dropping and g-dropping as labels. repository.essex.ac.uk

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