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drop

/drɑp/

/drɒp/

Other forms: dropped; drops; dropping

When you drop something, you let go of it and it falls. To drop a football is every receiver's nightmare. If you decide to drop your girlfriend or boyfriend, it will be their nightmare.

You might drop your dog's leash so she can sprint across the beach, or drop the heavy bags you've been carrying as soon as you walk in your front door. You can also drop to the ground yourself, to avoid being hit by your brother's remote control airplane. A drop is a fall, plummet, or plunge — literal, or figurative: "A drop in profits means we'll have to lay off some workers."

Definitions of drop
  1. verb
    let fall to the ground
    “Don't drop the dishes”
    Synonyms:
    drop down, sink
    fall or descend to a lower place or level
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    plop
    drop something with a plopping sound
    dump
    drop (stuff) in a heap or mass
    hang
    let drop or droop
    plank down, plonk down, plump down
    drop heavily
    type of:
    displace, move
    cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
  2. verb
    fall vertically
    “the bombs are dropping on enemy targets”
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    dump, plunge
    fall abruptly
    plummet, plump
    drop sharply
    flump, flump down
    fall heavily
    decline
    go down
    dip, sink
    appear to move downward
    type of:
    come down, descend, fall, go down
    move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
  3. verb
    fall or descend to a lower place or level
    synonyms: drop down, sink
    fall off, sink, slump
    fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly
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    drop open, fall open
    open involuntarily
    droop, flag, sag, swag
    droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness
    sag, sag down
    cause to sag
    slouch, slump
    assume a drooping posture or carriage
    bag
    hang loosely, like an empty bag
    type of:
    change posture
    undergo a change in bodily posture
  4. verb
    cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
    synonyms: cut down, fell, strike down
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    types:
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    chop down
    cut down
    poleax, poleaxe
    fell with or as if with a poleax
    log, lumber
    cut lumber, as in woods and forests
    cut
    fell by sawing; hew
    type of:
    cut
    separate with or as if with an instrument
  5. verb
    let or cause to fall in drops
    synonyms: dribble, drip
    drip
    fall in drops
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    type of:
    pour
    cause to run
  6. verb
    give birth; used for animals
    “The cow dropped her calf this morning”
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    type of:
    bear, birth, deliver, give birth, have
    cause to be born
  7. verb
    take (a drug, especially LSD), by mouth
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    type of:
    do drugs, drug
    use recreational drugs
  8. verb
    hang freely
    “The light dropped from the ceiling”
    synonyms: dangle, swing
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    types:
    droop, loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    type of:
    hang
    be suspended or hanging
  9. noun
    a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity
    “it was a miracle that he survived the drop from that height”
    synonyms: fall
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    types:
    free fall
    the ideal falling motion of something subject only to a gravitational field
    plunge
    a steep and rapid fall
    precipitation
    the act of casting down or falling headlong from a height
    type of:
    gravitation
    movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction
    descent
    a movement downward
  10. noun
    the act of dropping something
    “they expected the drop would be successful”
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    type of:
    descent
    the act of changing your location in a downward direction
  11. noun
    a shape that is spherical and small
    “he studied the shapes of low-viscosity drops
    synonyms: bead, pearl
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    types:
    dewdrop
    a drop of dew
    teardrop
    anything shaped like a falling drop (as a pendant gem on an earring)
    type of:
    sphere
    a solid figure bounded by a spherical surface (including the space it encloses)
  12. noun
    a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid)
    “he had a drop too much to drink”
    “a drop of each sample was analyzed”
    “there is not a drop of pity in that man”
    synonyms: drib, driblet
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    tear, teardrop
    a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands
    raindrop
    a drop of rain
    droplet
    a tiny drop
    eye-drop, eyedrop
    a drop from an eye dropper
    type of:
    small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity
    an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
  13. noun
    a steep high face of rock
    “a steep drop
    synonyms: cliff, drop-off
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    types:
    crag
    a steep rugged rock or cliff
    precipice
    a very steep cliff
    type of:
    formation, geological formation
    (geology) the geological features of the earth
  14. noun
    a curtain that can be lowered and raised onto a stage from the flies; often used as background scenery
    synonyms: drop cloth, drop curtain
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    types:
    scrim
    a theater drop that appears opaque until it is lit from behind
    type of:
    curtain, drape, drapery, mantle, pall
    hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
  15. verb
    go down in value
    “Stock prices dropped
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    types:
    fall off, sink, slump
    fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly
    tumble
    fall suddenly and sharply
    type of:
    decline, go down, wane
    grow smaller
  16. verb
    grow worse
    synonyms: degenerate, deteriorate, devolve
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    Antonyms:
    convalesce, recover, recuperate
    get over an illness or shock
    recuperate
    restore to good health or strength
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    fatigue, jade, pall, tire, weary
    lose interest or become bored with something or somebody
    fade, languish
    become feeble
    rot, waste
    become physically weaker
    gangrene, mortify, necrose, sphacelate
    undergo necrosis
    conk out, peter out, poop out, run down, run out
    use up all one's strength and energy and stop working
    retire, withdraw
    lose interest
    type of:
    decline, worsen
    grow worse
  17. verb
    fall or sink into a state of exhaustion or death
    “shop til you drop
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    type of:
    fall
    pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind
  18. verb
    change from one level to another
    “She dropped into army jargon”
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    type of:
    change
    undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
  19. verb
    lower the pitch of (musical notes)
    synonyms: flatten
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    Antonyms:
    sharpen
    raise the pitch of (musical notes)
    type of:
    alter, change, modify
    cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
  20. noun
    a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity
    “a drop of 57 points on the Dow Jones index”
    “there was a drop in pressure in the pulmonary artery”
    synonyms: dip, fall, free fall
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    types:
    correction
    a drop in stock market activity or stock prices following a period of increases
    voltage drop
    a decrease in voltage along a conductor through which current is flowing
    type of:
    decrease, decrement
    the amount by which something decreases
  21. verb
    leave undone or leave out
    synonyms: leave out, miss, neglect, omit, overleap, overlook, pretermit
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    Antonyms:
    attend to, take to heart
    get down to; pay attention to; take seriously
    types:
    forget
    forget to do something
    jump, pass over, skip, skip over
    bypass
  22. verb
    stop pursuing or acting
    drop a lawsuit”
    synonyms: knock off
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    types:
    nol.pros., nolle pros, nolle prosequi
    drop prosecution of by entering a nolle prosequi in the court records
    type of:
    cease, discontinue, give up, lay off, quit, stop
    put an end to a state or an activity
  23. verb
    leave or unload
    drop off the passengers at the hotel”
    synonyms: discharge, drop off, put down, set down, unload
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    types:
    wharf
    discharge at a wharf
    air-drop
    drop (an object) from the air; unload from a plane or helicopter
    type of:
    deliver
    bring to a destination, make a delivery
  24. verb
    get rid of
    synonyms: cast, cast off, shake off, shed, throw, throw away, throw off
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    exuviate, molt, moult, shed, slough
    cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers
    abscise
    shed flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of a scar tissue
    exfoliate
    cast off in scales, laminae, or splinters
    autotomise, autotomize
    cause a body part to undergo autotomy
    desquamate, peel off
    peel off in scales
    type of:
    remove, take, take away, withdraw
    remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract
  25. verb
    omit (a letter or syllable) in speaking or writing
    “New Englanders drop their post-vocalic r's”
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    type of:
    elide
    leave or strike out
  26. verb
    stop associating with
    synonyms: dismiss, send away, send packing
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    type of:
    can, dismiss, displace, fire, force out, give notice, give the axe, give the sack, sack, send away, terminate
    terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
  27. verb
    terminate an association with
    drop him from the Republican ticket”
    Synonyms:
    dismiss, send away, send packing
    stop associating with
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    type of:
    remove
    remove from a position or an office
  28. verb
    pay out
    synonyms: expend, spend
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    types:
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    consume, deplete, eat, eat up, exhaust, run through, use up, wipe out
    use up (resources or materials)
    consume, squander, ware, waste
    spend extravagantly
    afford
    be able to spare or give up
    blow
    spend lavishly or wastefully on
    trifle away, wanton, wanton away
    spend wastefully
    underspend
    spend at less than the normal rate
    misspend
    spend (money or other resources) unwisely
    nickel-and-dime, penny-pinch
    spend money frugally; spend as little as possible
    commit, invest, place, put
    make an investment
    economise, economize, save
    spend sparingly, avoid the waste of
    lay out
    spend or invest
    piddle, piddle away, trifle, wanton, wanton away
    waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
    misspend
    spend time badly or unwisely
    run out
    exhaust the supply of
    drain
    deplete of resources
    indulge, luxuriate
    enjoy to excess
    dissipate, fool, fool away, fritter, fritter away, frivol away, shoot
    spend frivolously and unwisely
    luxuriate, wanton
    become extravagant; indulge (oneself) luxuriously
    burn, burn off, burn up
    use up (energy)
    fund
    invest money in government securities
    lavish, shower
    expend profusely; also used with abstract nouns
    overspend
    spend at a high rate
    spend
    spend completely
    tighten one's belt
    live frugally and use less resources
    fling, splurge
    indulge oneself
    roll over
    re-invest (a previous investment) into a similar fund or security
    shelter
    invest (money) so that it is not taxable
    tie up
    invest so as to make unavailable for other purposes
    job, speculate
    invest at a risk
    exhaust, play out, run down, sap, tire
    deplete
    buy into
    buy stocks or shares of a company
    type of:
    pay
    give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
  29. verb
    utter with seeming casualness
    drop a hint”
    drop names”
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    type of:
    express, give tongue to, utter, verbalise, verbalize
    articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise
  30. verb
    lose (a game)
    “The Giants dropped 11 of their first 13”
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    type of:
    lose
    fail to win
  31. noun
    a central depository where things can be left or picked up
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    types:
    maildrop
    a drop where mail can be deposited
    letter box, mailbox, postbox
    public box for deposit of mail
    type of:
    deposit, depositary, depository, repository
    a facility where things can be deposited for storage or safekeeping
  32. noun
    a predetermined hiding place for the deposit and distribution of illicit goods (such as drugs or stolen property)
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    types:
    dead drop
    a drop used for the clandestine exchange of intelligence information
    type of:
    hiding place
    a place suitable for hiding something (such as yourself)
Pronunciation
US

/drɑp/

UK

/drɒp/

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