- 1 [intransitive, transitive] to fall or allow something to fall by accident The climber slipped and dropped to his death. drop something Be careful not to drop that plate. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbaccidentally, carelessly, casually, … prepositionin, into, on, … See full entry
- 2 [intransitive, transitive] to fall or make something fall deliberately + adv./prep. He staggered in and dropped into a chair. drop something (+ adv./prep.) Medical supplies are being dropped into the stricken area. (British English) He dropped his trousers (= undid them and let them fall). (North American English) He dropped his pants. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbaccidentally, carelessly, casually, … prepositionin, into, on, … See full entry
- 3[intransitive] (informal) to fall down or be no longer able to stand because you are extremely tired I feel ready to drop. She expects everyone to work till they drop. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbheavily, gently, lightly, … verb + droplet something, be ready to prepositioninto, onto, to, … phrasesdrop like a stone, drop open See full entry become weaker/less
- 4 [intransitive, transitive] to become or make something weaker, lower or less synonym fall The temperature has dropped considerably. At last the wind dropped. His voice dropped to a whisper. The Dutch team have dropped to fifth place. The price of shares dropped by 14p. Shares dropped in price by 14p. drop something She dropped her voice dramatically. You must drop your speed in built-up areas. Language BankfallDescribing a decrease Car crime in Oxford fell significantly last year. Car crime fell by about a quarter over a 12-month period. The number of stolen vehicles dropped from 1 013 to 780, a fall of 26 per cent. According to this data, 780 vehicles were stolen, 26% down on the previous year. There was an 11% drop in reported thefts from motor vehicles, from 1 971 to 1 737. These figures show that, as far as car crime is concerned, the main trend is downwards. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbconsiderably, dramatically, drastically, … verb + dropbe likely to, be unlikely to prepositionbelow, by, from, … See full entry eyes
- 5[intransitive, transitive] your eyes/gaze drop | drop your eyes/gaze (formal) to look down Her eyes dropped to her lap. slope downwards
- 6[intransitive] drop (away) (from something) to slope steeply downwards In front of them the valley dropped sharply away from the road. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbsharply, steeply, away, … prepositioninto, to, towards/toward, … See full entry deliver/send
- 7[transitive] to stop so that somebody can get out of a car, etc.; to deliver something on the way to somewhere else drop somebody/something Can you drop me near the bank? drop somebody/something off You left your jacket, but I can drop it off on my way to work tomorrow. See related entries: Driving
- 8[transitive] drop somebody a line/note to send a short letter to somebody Drop me a line when you get there. leave out
- 9[transitive] drop somebody/something (from something) to leave somebody/something out by accident or deliberately She's been dropped from the team because of injury. He spoke with a cockney accent and dropped his aitches (= did not pronounce the letter ‘h’ at the start of words). Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbquietly, unceremoniously prepositionfrom, in favour/favor of See full entry friends
- 10[transitive] drop somebody to stop seeing somebody socially She's dropped most of her old friends. stop
- 11[transitive] drop something to stop doing or discussing something; to not continue with something I dropped German (= stopped studying it) when I was 14. Drop everything and come at once! Look, can we just drop it (= stop talking about it)? I think we'd better drop the subject. Let's drop the formalities—please call me Mike. The police decided to drop the charges against her. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbquietly, immediately, quickly, … verb + droplet something, agree to, decide to, … prepositionin favour/favor of See full entry See related entries: Access to education hint
- 12[transitive] drop a hint to say or do something in order to show somebody, in an indirect way, what you are thinking in knitting
- 13[transitive] drop a stitch to let a stitch go off the needle Word OriginOld English dropa (noun), droppian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German Tropfen ‘a drop’, tropfen ‘to drip’, also to drip and droop.Extra examples Both countries have agreed to drop border controls. Can’t we just let the matter drop? He casually drops the latest buzzwords into the conversation. He dropped lightly down onto the lawn beneath. He has been quietly dropped from the England team. He saw Emma and promptly dropped his tray of drinks. He slowly dropped to the floor. He suddenly dropped his habitual banter. Her heart dropped like a stone at this news. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. His arms dropped limply to his sides. I accidentally dropped my glasses into the water. I feel ready to drop. I’m ready to drop= because I am so tired. Sales are likely to drop further. She smiled and let her eyes drop again. She was unceremoniously dropped by her record label. The cheese drops onto a conveyor underneath. The formal grade of Geologist was dropped in favour of Scientific Officer. The land dropped steeply away into a small valley. The number of children in the class has dropped from 25 to 18. The price has dropped by 15 per cent. The price of oil has dropped significantly. The subject was quietly dropped. The temperature rarely drops below 30°C. When nobody volunteered, the idea was finally dropped altogether. Drop everything and come at once. I dropped German when I was 14. I think we’d better drop the subject. Let’s drop the formalities—please call me Mike. Look, can we just drop it? Sales have fallen/declined/dropped by 20%. She’s been dropped from the team because of injury.Idioms
- 1(informal) to die suddenly and unexpectedly
- 2(informal) used to tell somebody, rudely, to stop annoying you, interfering, etc. see also drop-dead
- 1to do or say nothing more about somebody/something I suggest we let the matter drop.
- 2to mention somebody/something in a conversation, by accident or as if by accident He let it drop that the Prime Minister was a close friend of his.
verb jump to other results
BrE BrE//drɒp//; NAmE NAmE//drɑːp//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they drop BrE BrE//drɒp//; NAmE NAmE//drɑːp//
he / she / it drops BrE BrE//drɒps//; NAmE NAmE//drɑːps//
past simple dropped BrE BrE//drɒpt//; NAmE NAmE//drɑːpt//
past participle dropped BrE BrE//drɒpt//; NAmE NAmE//drɑːpt//
-ing form dropping BrE BrE//ˈdrɒpɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈdrɑːpɪŋ//
Driving, Access to educationpeople stop buying or using the products of a particular industry The bottom has fallen out of the travel market. See related entries: Economy
(informal) to die or fall down in very large numbers People were dropping like flies in the intense heat.
(North American English, informal) to make a mistake and spoil something that you are responsible for Let’s not drop the ball on this.
(British English, informal) to say something that offends or embarrasses somebody, although you did not intend to
(Australian English, New Zealand English, informal) to suddenly not be able to think clearly; to act in a stupid way because you have lost control over yourself
(British English, informal) to put somebody in an embarrassing situation, especially by telling a secret that you should not have told
(informal) to make something the responsibility of another person They dropped the problem firmly back in my lap.
to mention famous people you know or have met in order to impress others related noun name-dropping
somebody has the opportunity to do something pleasant without having made any effort My dream job just fell into my lap.
used to say that somebody suddenly looked surprised, shocked or disappointed
(informal, especially British English) used to say that somebody has finally understood or realized something that they had not understood or realized before I had to explain the joke to her a couple of times before the penny dropped.
it was extremely quiet The audience was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Phrasal Verbsdrop awaydrop backdrop bydrop offdrop out
Check pronunciation: drop
