drop
IPA: drˈɑp
noun
- (also figuratively) A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid.
- (pharmacology) A dose of liquid medicine in the form of a drop (sense 1).
- (pharmacology, chiefly in the plural) A liquid medicine that is intended to be administered in drops (sense 1).
- (figuratively) A very small quantity of liquid, or (by extension) of anything.
- (chiefly Australia, Britain) A small amount of an alcoholic beverage.
- (chiefly Britain) Usually preceded by the: alcoholic spirits in general.
- (Ireland, informal) A single measure of whisky.
- That which hangs or resembles a liquid globule, such as a hanging diamond earring or ornament, a glass pendant on a chandelier, etc.
- Often preceded by a defining word: a small, round piece of hard candy, such as a lemon drop; a lozenge.
- (architecture) An ornament resembling a pendant; a gutta.
- A thing which drops or hangs down.
- The cover mounted on a swivel over a keyhole that rests over the keyhole when not in use to keep out debris, but is swiveled out of the way before inserting the key.
- (agriculture) A fruit which has fallen off a tree, etc., or has been knocked off accidentally, rather than picked.
- (American football) A dropped pass.
- (law enforcement) A trapdoor (“hinged platform”) on a gallows; a gallows itself.
- (online gaming, video games) An item made available for the player to pick up from the remains of a defeated enemy.
- (technology)
- A mechanism for lowering something, such as a machine for lowering heavy weights on to a ship's deck, or a device for temporarily lowering a gas jet, etc.
- (theater) A curtain which falls in front of a theatrical stage; also, a section of (cloth) scenery lowered on to the stage like a curtain.
- An act or instance of dropping (in all senses).
- An act of moving downwards under the force of gravity; a descent, a fall.
- An instance of making a delivery of people, supplies, or things, especially by parachute out of an aircraft (an airdrop), but also by truck, etc.
- A release (of music, a video game, etc).
- (gambling) The amount of money that a gambler exchanges for chips in a casino.
- (law enforcement, informal) Preceded by the: execution by hanging.
- (sports)
- Usually preceded by the: relegation from one division to a lower one.
- (US, banking, dated) An unsolicited credit card issue.
- A decline in degree, quality, quantity, or rate.
- (sewing)
- Of men's clothes: the difference between the chest circumference and waist circumference.
- Of women's clothes: the difference between the bust circumference and hip circumference.
- The distance through which something drops, or falls below a certain level.
- The distance below a cliff or other high position through which someone or something could fall; hence, a steep slope.
- The vertical length of a hanging curtain.
- (engineering) The distance of the axis of a shaft below the base of a hanger.
- (law enforcement) The distance that a person drops when being executed by hanging.
- (nautical) The depth of a (square) sail (generally applied to the courses only); the vertical dimension of a sail.
- A place where items or supplies may be left for others to collect, whether openly (as with a mail drop), or secretly or illegally (as in crime or espionage); a drop-off point.
- (informal) Only used in get the drop on, have the drop on An advantage.
- (music) A point in a song, usually electronic music such as dubstep, house, trace, or trap, where there is a very noticeable and pleasing change in bass, tempo, and/or overall tone; a climax, a highlight.
- Short for drop hammer and drop press.
- (American football) Short for drop-back. [(American football) The act by a player in the backfield of dropping back from the line of scrimmage after the hike of the ball.]
- (pinball) Short for drop target. [(pinball) A target which drops or is knocked over by the ball hitting it, often arranged in banks or sets of multiple adjacent drop targets.]
- (rugby) Short for drop kick. [(rugby, Australian rules football, American football, Canadian football) A kick made by dropping the ball on the ground and kicking it as it bounces up.]
- (golf) Short for drop shot. [(sports) In sports such as badminton, squash, tennis and volleyball, a lightly-struck shot that just lands into play.]
verb
- (intransitive) Of a liquid: to fall in drops or droplets.
- (intransitive, also figuratively) To fall (straight down) under the influence of gravity, like a drop of liquid.
- (intransitive) To fall or sink quickly or suddenly to the ground.
- (intransitive) To collapse in exhaustion or injury; also, to fall dead, or to fall in death.
- (intransitive) To fall into a particular condition or state.
- (intransitive) To come to an end (by not being kept up); to lapse, to stop.
- (intransitive) To decrease, diminish, or lessen in condition, degree, value, etc.
- (intransitive) Of a song or sound: to lower in key, pitch, tempo, or other quality.
- (intransitive) Of a voice: to lower in timbre, often due to puberty.
- (intransitive) To fall behind or to the rear of a group of people, etc., as a result of not keeping up with those at the front.
- (intransitive) Usually followed by by, in, or into: of a person: to visit someone or somewhere informally or without a prior appointment.
- (intransitive, computing, music, television, colloquial) Of a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.: to enter public distribution.
- (intransitive, gambling) To drop out of the betting.
- (intransitive, physiology, informal) Of the testicles: to hang further away from the body and begin producing sperm due to puberty.
- (intransitive, obsolete) To let drops fall; to discharge itself in drops.
- (transitive) To drip (a liquid) in drops or small amounts.
- (transitive, ergative, also figuratively) To let (something) fall; to allow (something) to fall (either by releasing hold of, or losing one's grip on).
- (transitive) To move to a lower position; to allow to hang downwards; to lower.
- To quickly lower or take down (one's trousers), especially in public.
- (cooking) To cook (food, especially fast food), particularly by lowering into hot oil to deep-fry, or by grilling.
- (transitive) To reduce; to make smaller.
- (transitive) Of an animal (usually a sheep): to give birth to (young); of a bird: to lay (an egg).
- (transitive) To mention (something) casually or incidentally, usually in conversation.
- (transitive) To let (a letter, etc.) fall into a postbox; hence, to send (a letter, email, or other message) in an offhand manner.
- (transitive) To make (someone or something) fall to the ground from a blow, gunshot, etc.; to bring down, to shoot down.
- (transitive) To set down (someone or something) from a vehicle; to stop and deliver or deposit (someone or something); to drop off.
- (transitive) To lower (a sound, a voice, etc.) in pitch or volume.
- (transitive, music) To tune (a guitar string, etc.) to a lower note.
- (transitive) To cease concerning oneself over (someone or something); to have nothing more to do with (a discussion, subject, etc.).
- (transitive) To dispose or get rid of (something); to lose, to remove.
- (transitive) To cease to include (something), as if on a list; to dismiss, to eject, to expel.
- (transitive) To cancel or cease to participate in (a scheduled course, event, or project).
- (transitive, slang)
- To lose, spend, or otherwise part with (money).
- To pass or use (counterfeit cheques, money, etc.).
- To impart (something).
- Especially in drop acid: to swallow (a drug, particularly LSD).
- (transitive, computing, music, television, colloquial) To release (a programme, software, a music album or song, etc.) to the public.
- (transitive, linguistics) To fail to write, or (especially) to pronounce (a syllable, letter, etc.).
- (transitive, music)
- To play (a portion of music) in the manner of a disc jockey.
- To perform (rap music).
- (transitive, sports)
- (originally US) To (unexpectedly) lose (a competition, game, etc.).
- (cricket) Of a fielder: to fail to dismiss (a batsman) by accidentally dropping a batted ball that had initially been caught.
- (rugby) To score (a goal) by means of a drop kick.
- (transitive, archaic) To cover (something) with or as if with drops, especially of a different colour; to bedrop, to variegate.
- (intransitive, computing) To enter a more basic interface.
- (transitive, computing) To present (the user) with a more basic interface.
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Examples of "drop" in Sentences
- The mariner drops the flare down into the oil reserves.
- The pallbearers drop the coffin, which sleds down the stairs.
- The climax of the ride drops the rafts down into a geyser field.
- It just has a camera dropping down to the bottom of the mineshaft.
- Clawshot to the end of the vines, then drop down to the other side.
- In result, the battery voltage is dropped and the wristwatch runs down.
- By the way, what key do you hear when you drop a piano down a mineshaft
- The view up the coast where the mountains drop down to the sea is magnificent.
- Once the handbrake is set it drops down so as not to impede egress and ingress.
- However, soon afterwards, the music drops down to a soft tremolo in the strings.