Gas rationing during the war caused the number of automobiles on roads to drop precipitously, helping to make the freeway unnecessary.

During the first hour after a nuclear explosion, radioactivity levels drop precipitously.

This can result in widespread foreclosure or bankruptcy for those investors and entrepreneurs who came in late to the market, as the prices of previously inflated assets generally drop precipitously.

The price of copper dropped precipitously in the 1930s, and operations at the mine ceased in 1938.

In the 1960s and 1970s, government policy began to emphasize crop diversification, in an effort to avoid being affected if the world price of rubber were to drop precipitously.