drop

1 of 2

noun

often attributive
1
a(1)
: the quantity of fluid that falls in one spherical mass
a drop of rain
(2)
drops plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops
eye drops for dilating the pupil of the eye
b
: a minute quantity or degree of something nonmaterial or intangible
not a drop of meanness in her
c
: a small quantity of drink
hasn't touched a drop of alcohol in three years
d
: the smallest practical unit of liquid measure
2
: something that resembles a liquid drop: such as
a
: a pendent ornament attached to a piece of jewelry
also : an earring with such a pendant
b
: a small globular cookie or candy
sucking on lemon drops
3
[drop entry 2]
a
: the act or an instance of dropping : fall
a sudden, short drop in an elevator
b
: a decline in quantity or quality
His income took a sudden drop.
a drop in demand
c
: a descent by parachute
also : the people or equipment dropped by parachute
expecting another drop this week
d
: a place or central depository to which something (such as mail, money, or stolen property) is brought for distribution or transmission
left the package at the drop
also : the act of depositing something at such a place
made the drop
4
a
: the distance from a higher to a lower level or through which something drops
It's a twenty-foot drop from the top of the fence.
a steep drop
b
electrical engineering : a decrease in electric potential (see potential entry 2 sense 2b)
5
: a slot into which something is to be dropped
6
[drop entry 2] : something that drops, hangs, or falls: such as
a
: a movable plate that covers the keyhole of a lock
b
: an unframed piece of cloth stage scenery
also : drop curtain
c
: a hinged platform on a gallows
d
: a fallen fruit
7
: the advantage of having an opponent covered (see cover entry 1 sense 1b(2)) with a firearm
broadly : advantage, superiority
usually used in the phrase get the drop on
waiting to get the drop on me
8
: a move back from the line of scrimmage (as in preparation for making a forward pass)
a quick drop

drop

2 of 2

verb

dropped; dropping; drops

intransitive verb

1
: to fall in drops
2
a(1)
: to fall (see fall entry 1 sense 1a) unexpectedly or suddenly
The book dropped from her hand.
(2)
: to descend (see descend sense 1) from one line or level to another
the land drops to sea level
b
: to fall in a state of collapse (see collapse entry 2 sense 1b) or death
dropped from exhaustion
c
of a playing card : to become played by reason of the obligation to follow suit
d
: to fall or roll into a hole or basket
3
: to enter or pass as if without conscious effort of will (see will entry 2 sense 4a) into some state, condition, or activity
dropped into sleep
4
a
: to cease to be of concern : lapse
let the matter drop
b
: to pass from view or notice : disappear
often used with out
drop out of sight
c
: to become less
production dropped
often used with off
5
nautical : to move with a favoring wind or current
usually used with down
We dropped down the harbor.
6
informal : to be released to the public
His latest solo album dropped in August …Ed Rampell
The second Podcast drops Nov. 14 and can be downloaded free …Langston Wertz, Jr.
There's also something to be said for jumping on a subscription for a month or two, say when a big, new game drops.Adam Rosenberg

transitive verb

1
: to let fall : cause to fall
dropped the ball
dropping bombs on the city
2
a
: give up sense 2, abandon
drop an idea
drop the charges
b
: discontinue
dropped what she was doing
c
: to break off an association or connection with : dismiss
drop her old friends
was dropped by his sponsors
students who dropped the class
3
a
: to utter or mention in a casual way
drop a suggestion
drop names
b
: write
drop us a line soon
4
a
: to lower or cause to descend from one level or position to another
drop the hem two inches
drop the water level
b
: to cause to lessen or decrease : reduce
dropped his speed
5
of an animal : to give birth to
6
a
: lose
dropped three games
dropped $50 in a poker game
b
: spend
drop $20 for lunch
c
: to get rid of
dropped 20 pounds
7
a
: to bring down with a shot or a blow
dropped the buck with one shot
dropping the world champion in the ring
b
card games : to cause a cardholder to unwillingly play (a high card)
dropped her ace
c
: to toss or roll into a hole or basket
drop a putt
8
a
: to deposit or deliver during a usually brief stop
usually used with off
drop the kids off at school
b
: air-drop
drop the supplies to the medical team
9
: to cause (the voice) to be less loud
10
a
linguistics : to leave (a letter representing a speech sound) unsounded
drop the g in running
b
: to leave out in writing : omit
accidentally dropped a whole line
11
: to draw from an external point
drop a perpendicular to the line
12
: to take (a drug) orally : swallow
drop acid
13
computers : to place (an item on a computer screen) in one location in a graphical user interface after dragging it from another
Move the video to the desired location and release the mouse button to drop the file …Techsling
… you get a handy graphical representation of all your tasks and can even drag and drop them from one list to another …Jack Wallen
droppable adjective
Phrases
at the drop of a hat
: as soon as the slightest provocation is given : immediately
loses her temper at the drop of a hat
drop in the bucket
: a part so small as to be negligible
drop a dime
: to inform authorities (such as the police) of another's wrongdoing
drop behind
: to fail to keep up
drop the ball
: to make a mistake especially by failing to take timely, effective, or proper action

Examples of drop in a Sentence

Noun He squeezed the bottle until a few drops came out. She doesn't have a single drop of selfishness in her. The poet wrings the last drop of meaning from every word. Verb Be careful not to drop the chair on your foot. She dropped the apple core into the trash can. They dropped bombs on the city. He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces. The player dropped the ball. The pen rolled to the edge of the table and dropped to the floor. The book dropped from my hand. The ball dropped between the right and center fielders. She was so tired she felt she would drop. He worked until he dropped.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Smaller novelty fireworks like party poppers, snappers/drop pops, snakes, smoke bombs, sparklers and ground spinners are permitted. Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024 Election day voters should either put their ballot in a drop box or cast it at an in-person voting site, the locations of both are available online. Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 Lewis gave up the information at the drop of a hat, after Larry threatened to take him out of his will. Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2024 The early scenes, rendered in black-and-white, were bold, bombastic, spectacular—conversations turned into dance sequences at the drop of a hat. Maya Binyam, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 According to the airline, those using the Digital ID for bag drops are seeing 75% faster transactions—averaging about 30 seconds—based on tens of thousands of uses. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Mar. 2024 However, total noninterest expenses as a % of revenues posted a favorable drop. Trefis Team, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Earned exposure at the SAG Award for many luxury brands — and the stars who wore them — saw a significant drop from previous 2024 awards shows. Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024 The study found this group declined 34 percent, while other groups didn't see as sharp of a drop. Lauren Sommer, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
To be fair to news organizations, they were faced with a thorny, difficult decision after the Hur report dropped. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 That’s much higher than the national rate for kindergartners, which dropped from 95% in the 2019-20 school year to 93% in 2022-23, according to the CDC. Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Repay’s stock has rebounded since dropping to a 52-week low of $5.68 in May 2023. Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024 Additionally, 50 people were injured on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner when a sudden mid-air movement caused the plane to suddenly drop on Monday. Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2024 Trump's remaining major rival, former United Nations Ambassador Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped her White House bid after the Super Tuesday primaries. Hunter Woodall, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024 The next year, Congress passed new legislation, dropping the requirement for models; a few years after that, the general public was banned from the building, owing to space constraints. Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024 In Matthew Ferrari’s terms, a dropping immunization rate means the piles of firewood are getting bigger. Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024 Yahoo-YouGov polls also found Trump’s support dropping between four and nine percentage points if he were convicted of a serious crime. Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Old English dropa; akin to Old High German tropfo drop

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of drop was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near drop

Cite this Entry

“Drop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drop. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

drop

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: the quantity of fluid that falls naturally in one rounded mass
b
plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops
eye drops
c
: a small quantity of drink
d
: the smallest practical unit of liquid measure
2
: something (as a hanging ornament on jewelry or a round candy) shaped like a drop
3
a
: the act or an instance of dropping : fall
b
: a decline in quantity or quality
a drop in water pressure
a drop in prices
c
: a descent by parachute
d
: a place where something (as mail or goods) is left to be picked up
4
: the distance through which something drops
5
: an unframed piece of cloth scenery in a theater
6
: advantage sense 1
we've got the drop on them

drop

2 of 2 verb
dropped; dropping
1
: to fall or let fall in drops
2
a
: to let fall : cause to fall
dropped the book
b
: to reduce to a lower level or stage
dropped his speed
3
: send sense 1
drop me a line
4
: to stop doing, using, or considering
drop the subject
dropped everything and ran to the door
you can drop that idea
5
: to knock or shoot down
6
: to go lower
prices dropped
7
: to make a brief visit
drop in for a chat
8
: to pass into a less active state
drop off to sleep
9
: to move downward or with a current
10
: to leave (a letter standing for a speech sound) unsounded
drop the "g" in "running"
11
: to give birth to
the cow dropped her calf

Medical Definition

drop

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: the quantity of fluid that falls in one spherical mass
b
drops plural : a dose of medicine measured by drops
eye drops for dilating the pupil of the eye
2
: the smallest practical unit of liquid measure that varies in size according to the specific gravity and viscosity of the liquid and to the conditions under which it is formed compare minim

drop

2 of 2 verb
dropped; dropping

intransitive verb

: to fall in drops

transitive verb

1
of an animal : to give birth to
lambs dropped in June
2
: to take (a drug) orally
drop acid

More from Merriam-Webster on drop

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