drop

verb

/drɒp/

/drɑːp/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they drop	/drɒp/ /drɑːp/
he / she / it drops	/drɒps/ /drɑːps/
past simple dropped	/drɒpt/ /drɑːpt/
past participle dropped	/drɒpt/ /drɑːpt/
-ing form dropping	/ˈdrɒpɪŋ/ /ˈdrɑːpɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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fall

[transitive, intransitive] to allow something to fall by accident; to fall by accident

drop something Be careful not to drop that plate.
drop something + adv./prep. I accidentally dropped my glasses into the water.
drop to something The climber slipped and dropped to his death.
His arms dropped limply to his sides.
drop + adj. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief.

Extra Examples

He saw Emma and promptly dropped his tray of drinks.
He slowly dropped to the floor.
(figurative) Her heart dropped like a stone at this news.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

accidentally
carelessly
casually
…

preposition

in
into
on
…

See full entry

[transitive, intransitive] to make something fall deliberately; to let yourself fall

drop something You can never be sure whether the planes will be dropping bombs or food parcels.
drop something + adv./prep. Medical supplies are being dropped into the stricken area.
She lifted the bag then dropped it down again.
(British English) He dropped his trousers (= undid them and let them fall).
(North American English) He dropped his pants.
drop (+ adv./prep.) Catch me when I drop.
I dropped to my knees beside her.

Extra Examples

The plane came straight in, dropping down to land in a field.
He dropped lightly down onto the lawn beneath.
The cheese drops onto a conveyor underneath.
(figurative) He casually drops the latest buzzwords into the conversation.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

accidentally
carelessly
casually
…

preposition

in
into
on
…

See full entry

[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.
drop + adv./prep. He staggered in and dropped into a chair.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

heavily
gently
lightly
…

verb + drop

let something
be ready to

preposition

into
onto
to
…

phrases

drop like a stone
drop open

See full entry

become weaker/less

[intransitive, transitive] to become or make something weaker, lower or less synonym fall

The temperature has dropped considerably.
At last the wind dropped.
Error rates have dropped dramatically.
drop to something His voice dropped to a whisper.
The Dutch team have dropped to fifth place.
drop by something The price of shares dropped by 14p.
drop in something (by something) Shares dropped in price by 14p.
drop against something The dollar dropped sharply against the euro.
drop something You must drop your speed in built-up areas.

Language Bank fallfallDescribing 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 per cent down on the previous year.
- There was an 11 per cent 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.

Extra Examples

The number of children in the class has dropped from 25 to 18.
The price of oil has dropped significantly.
The temperature rarely drops below 30°C.
Sales are likely to drop further.
Processing costs dropped 30 per cent.
The baby's heart rate had dropped.

Topics Change, cause and effectb1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

considerably
dramatically
drastically
…

verb + drop

be likely to
be unlikely to

preposition

below
by
from
…

See full entry

in sport

[transitive] drop something to fail to win something

It's a long time since we dropped a game.
They didn't drop any points until halfway through the season.
She dropped the second set but came back to win the match.
He dropped his serve (= failed to win games in which it was his turn to hit the ball first) twice in the first set.

eyes

[intransitive, transitive] your eyes/gaze drop | drop your eyes/gaze (formal) to look down

Her eyes dropped to her lap.
She smiled and let her eyes drop again.

slope downwards

[intransitive] to slope steeply downwards

drop (away) (from something) In front of them the valley dropped sharply away from the road.
drop (away) (into/to something) The land dropped steeply away into a small valley.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

sharply
steeply
away
…

preposition

into
to
towards/toward
…

See full entry

deliver/send

[transitive] to stop so that somebody can get out of a car, etc.; to deliver or leave something in a particular place, especially 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.
drop something + adv./prep. Just drop it in the mail when you have time.

related noun drop-off (2)Topics Transport by car or lorryb2

[transitive] drop somebody a line/a note/an email to send a short letter or email to somebody

Drop me a line when you get there.
Don't hesitate to drop me an email or give me a call.

on a computer screen

[transitive] drop something (+ adv./prep.) to put some text, an icon, etc. into a file, folder or place on a computer screen, using the mouse

You can easily drag and drop files onto your memory stick.

leave out

[transitive] to leave somebody/something out by accident or deliberately

drop somebody/something from something She's been dropped from the team because of injury.
drop somebody/something He spoke with a cockney accent and dropped his aitches (= did not pronounce the letter ‘h’ at the start of words).
She was unceremoniously dropped by her record label.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

quietly
unceremoniously

preposition

from
in favour/favor of

See full entry

friends

[transitive] drop somebody to stop seeing somebody socially

She's dropped most of her old friends.

stop

[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.
The police decided to drop the charges against her.
Let's drop the formalities—please call me Mike.

Extra Examples

Both countries have agreed to drop border controls.
He suddenly dropped his habitual banter.
The formal grade of Geologist was dropped in favour of Scientific Officer.
When nobody volunteered, the idea was finally dropped altogether.

Topics Educationb2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

quietly
immediately
quickly
…

verb + drop

let something
agree to
decide to
…

preposition

in favour/favor of

See full entry

hint

[transitive] drop a hint to say or do something in order to show somebody, in an indirect way, what you are thinking see also name-drop

in knitting

[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.

Idioms

the bottom drops/falls out (of something)

people stop buying or using the products of a particular industry
- The bottom has fallen out of the travel market.
Topics Moneyc2

die/fall/drop like flies

(informal) to die or become ill and fall down in very large numbers
- People were dropping like flies in the intense heat.

drop a/the dime on somebody

(North American English, informal) to tell the police or people in authority that somebody has done something wrong
- If he finds out who dropped the dime on him, they're in trouble.
- I'm worried if I drop a dime on this guy, he'll get fired, which I don't think he really deserves.

drop the ball

(North American English, informal) to make a mistake and cause something that you are responsible for to fail
- Let’s not drop the ball on this.

drop a brick/clanger

(British English, informal) to say something that offends or embarrasses somebody, although you did not intend to

drop your bundle

(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

drop dead

(informal) to die suddenly and unexpectedly
(informal) used to tell somebody, rudely, to stop annoying you, interfering, etc. see also drop-dead

drop your guard

to stop being careful and preparing yourself for possible danger or difficulty
- You can never drop your guard with a two-year-old.
- Even when he's winning, he never drops his guard.

drop somebody in it

(British English, informal) to put somebody in an embarrassing situation, especially by telling a secret that you should not have told

drop/dump something in somebody’s lap

(informal) to make something the responsibility of another person
- They dropped the problem firmly back in my lap.

drop names

to mention famous people you know or have met in order to impress others
- She found him rather irritating to talk to; all he did was drop names.
related noun name-dropping

something drops/falls into somebody’s lap

somebody has the opportunity to do something pleasant without having made any effort
- My dream job just fell into my lap.

somebody’s jaw dropped/fell/sagged

used to say that somebody suddenly looked surprised, shocked or disappointed

let somebody/something drop

to do or say nothing more about somebody/something
- I suggest we let the matter drop.
to 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.

the penny drops

(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.

you could hear a pin drop

it was extremely quiet
- The audience was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

drop

noun

/drɒp/

/drɑːp/

Idioms

jump to other results

of liquid

[countable] drop (of something) a very small amount of liquid that forms a round shape

The first drops of rain fell.
There was a drop of blood on his finger.
a drop of water/oil/sweat
Mix a few drops of milk into the cake mixture.

fall

[countable, usually singular] a fall or reduction in the amount, level or number of something

drop in something a sharp/steep drop in profits
We've seen a 15 per cent drop in price since May.
a dramatic drop in sales/temperature/market share
They reported a significant drop in passenger traffic.
drop against something The pound has suffered a big drop against the euro.

Language Bank fallfallDescribing 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 per cent down on the previous year.
- There was an 11 per cent 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.

Extra Examples

If you want the job, you must be prepared to take a drop in salary.
There was a substantial drop in the number of people out of work last month.

Topics Moneyb2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

big
considerable
huge
…

verb + drop

experience
suffer
cause
…

preposition

drop in

See full entry

distance down

[countable, usually singular] a distance straight down from a high point to a lower point

There was a sheer drop of fifty metres to the rocks below.
There was a twenty-foot drop onto the stones beneath.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

precipitous
sheer
steep
…

See full entry

medicine

drops

[plural] a liquid medicine that you put one drop at a time into your eyes, ears or nose

eye drops
Use the drops three times a day.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

single
tiny
tear
…

verb + drop

wipe
wipe off

drop + verb

fall
roll down something

preposition

drop of

See full entry

delivering

[countable] the act of delivering somebody/something in a vehicle or by plane; the act of dropping something

Aid agencies are organizing food drops to civilians in the war zone.
a parachute drop

sweet/candy

[countable] a small round sweet of the type mentioned

fruit drops
cough drops (= sweets to help a cough)