drop

1 verb FALL/ALLOW TO FALL

1 (T) to stop holding or carrying something so that it falls: I must have dropped my scarf on the bus. | The dog dropped a stick at George's feet.

2 FALL (I) to fall suddenly, especially from a high place: A bottle rolled across the table, dropped onto the floor and smashed. | Your button has dropped off.

3 LOWER YOUR BODY (intransitive always + adv/prep, transitive) to lower yourself or part of your body suddenly

(+ to/into/down etc): He dropped into a chair with a sigh.

4 GROUND (intransitive always + adv/prep) if a path, land etc drops it goes down suddenly, forming a steep slope: At that point the path dropped sharply to the right.

(+ away): The cliff dropped away to the sea.

5 drop anchor to lower a boat's anchor 1 (1) to the bottom of the sea, lake etc so that the boat stays in the same place

6 HIT (T) to hit someone so hard that they fall down: Ali dropped him with one punch.

DECREASE

7 LEVEL/AMOUNT (I) to fall to a lower level or amount: The town's population is expected to drop in the next decade.

(+ to/from): The number of people out of work has dropped to 2 million. | drop sharply: House prices have dropped sharply in the recession.

8 TEMPERATURE (I) to become colder quite quickly: The temperature dropped below zero.

9 LOWER A LEVEL/AMOUNT (T) to lower the level or amount of something: Drop your speed as you approach the bend.

10 drop your voice/let your voice drop to speak more quietly: Barbara saw the manager coming and dropped her voice to a whisper.

STOP (DOING STH)

11 STOP DOING STH (T) to stop doing something or planning to do something: Plans for a new swimming pool were dropped due to lack of funding.

12 TO STOP TALKING to stop talking about something because it upsets people: drop it/drop the subject spoken: Just drop it can't you? I'm tired of arguing. | let the matter drop: I wish you'd let the matter drop.

13 drop everything to stop what you are doing in order to do something else: I can't just drop everything and go, I've got far too much work.

14 RELATIONSHIP (T) to end a relationship with someone, usually without thinking about how the other person will feel: Sally drops her boyfriends as soon as she gets bored.

15 drop history/physics/German etc to decide to stop studying history etc at school or university: I wish I hadn't dropped French, it would've been useful for this job.

NOT USE

16 NOT USE (T) to decide not to use something that you had planned to use: This article won't be of interest to our readers. Let's drop it.

17 NOT INCLUDE (T) to no longer include someone in a team or group

(+ from): Jeff's been dropped from the team for Saturday's game.

18 WORD OR LETTER (T) to not use a particular word or letter: He often drops his `h's' when he talks. | Oh, drop the `senator', just call me Gordon.

GO SOMEWHERE

19 VISIT (intransitive always + adv/prep) to visit someone informally without arranging a particular time

(+ in/over/round/by): Drop by whenever you're in the area. | drop in on sb: I think I'll drop in on Jill on my way home.

20 TAKE SB SOMEWHERE (transitive always + adv/prep) to take someone by car to a particular place that you are driving past: drop sb off/at etc: She usually drops the kids off at school on her way to work.

21 TAKE STH SOMEWHERE (transitive always + adv/prep) to take something to a particular place and leave it there: drop sth off/at/in etc: I'll drop the books off at your place after my class.

22 drop behind/back to move slowly so that you get separated from the group you are with: Don't drop behind the others on the trail in case you get lost.

OTHER MEANINGS

23 drop sb a line/note to write a short letter to someone: Drop me a line when you get to Hawaii.

24 BE TIRED (I) to be extremely tired: They worked until they dropped.

25 (let) drop a hint/suggestion/remark etc to say something informally and without emphasizing it: He let drop a remark about his childhood which quite surprised me.

26 drop your eyes/gaze to stop looking at someone and look down, usually because you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable: She blushed and dropped her gaze.

27 drop dead

a) to die suddenly and unexpectedly without having previously been ill: One day he just dropped dead in the street.

b) spoken used angrily to tell someone to be quiet, stop annoying you etc

28 MONEY (T) informal to lose money in business, a game etc: Phil dropped $200 playing poker yesterday.

29 NOT CATCH (T) to fail to catch a ball hit by a batsman in the game of cricket (2)

30 LOSE (T) to lose a point, game etc in a sports competition: Davison has dropped three points in the fourth round.

31 DRUGS (T) informal to swallow an illegal drug: She dropped acid in the 60s.

32 drop names to use the names of famous or important people in conversations to make yourself seem important

33 drop a stitch to let the wool fall off the needle when you are knitting (knit1 (1))

34 drop a clanger/brick BrE to say something socially embarrassing

35 drop a bombshell informal to suddenly tell someone a shocking piece of news: Then she dropped a bombshell and told me she wanted a divorce.

drop away phrasal verb (I) to become lower in level or amount: Sales have dropped away in recent months. drop off phrasal verb (I)

1 to begin to sleep: Just as I was dropping off, I heard a noise in the house.

2 to become lower in level or amount: Interest in the game has dropped off recently.

drop out phrasal verb (I)

1 to leave an activity, course etc before it has finished

(+ of): He dropped out of college. | Dwyer had to drop out of the race because of injury.

2 to move away from or refuse to take part in society because you do not agree with its principles

—see also: dropout (2)

3 if a word or expression drops out of a language, it is no longer used

2 noun

1 LIQUID (C) a very small amount of liquid that falls in a round shape

(+ of): Big drops of rain rolled down the window. | a tear drop

2 A SMALL AMOUNT a drop informal

a) a small amount of liquid that you drink: I like my whisky with just a drop of soda.

b) a small amount of something: He hasn't a drop of sense in his head.

3 DISTANCE (singular) a distance from something down to the ground: a path that ended in a vertical drop of fifty feet

4 LESS IN AMOUNT (singular) if there is a drop in the amount, level, or number of something, it goes down or becomes less: a drop in interest rates | a sudden drop in air pressure

5 at the drop of a hat used to say that you would do something immediately if you had the opportunity: I'd go to the Far East at the drop of a hat.

6 DELIVER (C) an act of dropping or leaving something, such as food or medical supplies, especially from an aircraft: an air drop to the war-torn region

—see also: mail drop

7 lemon/fruit/chocolate etc drop a sweet that tastes of lemon etc

—see also: cough drop

8 a drop in the ocean BrE, a drop in the bucket AmE a very small amount of something compared to what is actually needed or wanted: The fund raising is going well, but it's really only a drop in the ocean.

9 eye/ear etc drops a type of medicine that you put in your eye etc, one drop at a time

10 not touched a drop used to say that you have not drunk any alcohol at all