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drop

  [drop] noun, verb, dropped or dropt, drop⋅ping.
Use drop in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small quantity of liquid that falls or is produced in a more or less spherical mass; a liquid globule.
2. the quantity of liquid contained in such a globule.
3. a very small quantity of liquid: I'll have a little more tea, just a drop.
4. a minute quantity of anything: not even a drop of mercy.
5. Usually, drops.
a. liquid medicine given in a dose or form of globules from a medicine dropper.
b. a solution for dilating the pupils of the eyes, administered to the eyes in globules by a medicine dropper.
6. a limited amount of an alcoholic beverage: He occasionally takes a drop after dinner.
7. an act or instance of dropping; fall; descent.
8. the distance or depth to which anything drops: a ten-foot drop to the ground.
9. a steep slope: a short drop to the lake.
10. a decline in amount, degree, quality, value, etc.: a drop in prices.
11. a small, usually spherical, piece of candy; lozenge: a lemon drop.
12. a central depository where items are left or transmitted: a mail drop.
13. a predesignated place where secret letters or packages can be left to be picked up by another person without attracting attention, as in espionage or drug dealing.
14. something resembling or likened to a liquid globule, as certain ornaments, a spherical earring, etc.
15. a pendant.
16. a descent by parachute.
17. an instance of dropping supplies by parachute or an amount of supplies so dropped.
18. something that drops or is used for dropping.
19. a group of persons dropped by parachute, as the personnel dropped by parachute during one military action.
20. Theater.
a. drop curtain.
b. drop scene.
21. trap door.
22. a gallows.
23. a slit or opening into which something can be dropped, as in a mailbox.
24. (in a casino) the income from the sale of chips.
25. a small flag, usually of enameled metal, that gives a visual signal in an annunciator.
26. Furniture. an applied ornament resembling a pendant.
27. Architecture. gutta (def. 2).
28. Nautical. the vertical dimension amidships of any sail that is bent to a standing yard. Compare hoist (def. 6a).
29. Also called drop panel. (in reinforced-concrete-slab construction) a thickened portion of the ceiling around a column head.
30. Horology. the free motion of an escape wheel between successive checks by the pallet.
31. the newborn young of an animal.
–verb (used without object)
32. to fall in globules or small portions, as water or other liquid: Rain drops from the clouds.
33. to fall vertically; have an abrupt descent.
34. to sink or fall to the ground, floor, or bottom as if inanimate.
35. to fall lower in condition, degree, value, etc.; diminish or lessen; sink: The prices dropped sharply.
36. to come to an end; cease; lapse: There the matter dropped.
37. to fall or move to a position that is lower, farther back, inferior, etc.: to drop back in line; to drop to the rear.
38. to withdraw; quit (often fol. by out or from): to drop out of a race; to drop from a game.
39. to pass or enter without effort into some condition, activity, or the like: to drop into sleep; to drop into a habit.
40. to make an unexpected or unannounced stop at a place; pay an informal visit or call (usually fol. by in, by, or over): Since we're in the neighborhood, why don't we drop in at my brother's?
41. to cease to appear or be seen; vanish: to drop from sight or notice.
42. to fall wounded, dead, etc.: A thousand men dropped in the battle.
43. to squat or crouch, as a dog at the sight of game.
44. to move gently, as with the tide or a light wind (usually fol. by down).
45. Slang. to ingest an illicit drug orally; swallow.
–verb (used with object)
46. to let fall in drops or small portions: to drop lemon juice into tea.
47. to let or cause to fall.
48. to cause or allow to sink to a lower position.
49. to cause to decrease in value, amount, quality, etc.; reduce.
50. to utter or express casually or incidentally: to drop a hint.
51. to write and send: Drop me a note.
52. to bring to the ground by a blow or shot.
53. to set down or unload, as from a ship, car, etc. (often fol. by off): Drop me at the corner.
54. to omit (a letter or syllable) in pronunciation or writing: He dropped his h's.
55. to lower (the voice) in pitch or loudness.
56. to cease to keep up or have to do with: I dropped the subject. Will you drop your old friends if you win the lottery?
57. to cease to employ, admit as a member, or include, as on a list; dismiss: to drop an accountant from the payroll; to drop three members of the club who have not paid their dues.
58. to withdraw or cease to pursue: The police dropped the charges against the suspect.
59. Sports.
a. to throw, shoot, hit, kick, or roll (a ball, puck, etc.) through or into a basket, hole, or other goal: He dropped the ball through the basket for two points.
b. to lose (a game or contest): They dropped two games in a row and were eliminated from the tournament.
60. Football.
a. to drop-kick (a ball).
b. to score with a drop kick.
61. (of animals) to give birth to: The cat dropped a litter of six kittens.
62. to parachute (persons, supplies, etc.): The Marines dropped 300 combat troops into the jungle battlefield.
63. to lengthen by lowering or letting out: to drop the hem of a skirt.
64. to lower (the wheels) into position for landing an airplane.
65. Slang. to take (esp. an illicit drug) by swallowing; ingest: to drop LSD.
66. Nautical. to pass out of sight of; outdistance.
67. Cookery. to poach (an egg).
—Verb phrases
68. drop behind, to fall short of the required pace or progress: Her long illness caused her to drop behind the rest of the class.
69. drop off,
a. to fall asleep.
b. to decrease; decline: Sales have dropped off drastically.
70. drop out,
a. to withdraw from being a member or participant: to drop out of a club; to drop out of society and become a wanderer.
b. to stop attending school or college.
—Idioms
71. at the drop of a hat, at the slightest provocation or without delay: He's ready to fight at the drop of a hat.
72. drop dead, (used as an expression of contempt, disgust, impatience, etc.): If that's the way you feel about it, drop dead!
73. drop in the bucket. bucket (def. 13).
74. get or have the drop on,
a. to aim and be ready to shoot a gun at an antagonist before the other person's gun can be drawn.
b. to get or have at a disadvantage.
Origin:
bef. 1000; (n.) ME drop(e) drop of liquid, OE dropa; (v.) ME droppen, OE droppian; akin to drip, droop

Related forms:
droplike, adjective

gut⋅ta

  [guht-uh]
–noun, plural gut⋅tae  [guht-ee] .
1. a drop, or something resembling one.
2. Also called drop. Architecture. one of a series of pendent ornaments, generally in the form of a frustum of a cone, attached to the undersides of the mutules of the Doric entablature.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME goute, gutta < L gutta a drop
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To drop
drop   (drŏp)   
n.  
  1. The smallest quantity of liquid heavy enough to fall in a spherical mass. See Table at measurement.
  2. A small quantity of a substance.
  3. drops Liquid medicine administered in drops.
  4. A trace or hint: not a drop of pity.
    1. Something shaped or hanging like a drop.
    2. A small globular piece of hard candy.
    3. The vertical distance from a higher to a lower level.
    4. The distance through which something falls or drops.
    5. A descent by parachute.
    6. Personnel and equipment landed by means of parachute.
    7. A predetermined location for the deposit and subsequent removal of secret communications or illicit goods, such as drugs.
    8. The act of depositing such communications or materials.
  6. The act of falling; descent.
  7. A swift decline or decrease, as in quality, quantity, or intensity.
    1. The vertical distance from a higher to a lower level.
    2. The distance through which something falls or drops.
    3. A descent by parachute.
    4. Personnel and equipment landed by means of parachute.
    5. A predetermined location for the deposit and subsequent removal of secret communications or illicit goods, such as drugs.
    6. The act of depositing such communications or materials.
  9. A sheer incline, such as the face of a cliff.
    1. A descent by parachute.
    2. Personnel and equipment landed by means of parachute.
    3. A predetermined location for the deposit and subsequent removal of secret communications or illicit goods, such as drugs.
    4. The act of depositing such communications or materials.
  11. Something, such as a trapdoor on a gallows, that is arranged to fall or be lowered.
  12. A drop curtain.
  13. A slot through which something is deposited in a receptacle.
  14. A central place or establishment where something, such as mail, is brought and subsequently distributed.
    1. A predetermined location for the deposit and subsequent removal of secret communications or illicit goods, such as drugs.
    2. The act of depositing such communications or materials.
  16. Electronics A connection made available for an input or output unit on a transmission line.
v.   dropped, drop·ping, drops

v.   intr.
  1. To fall in drops.
  2. To fall from a higher to a lower place or position.
  3. To become less, as in number, intensity, or volume.
  4. To descend from one level to another.
  5. To fall or sink into a state of exhaustion or death.
  6. To pass or slip into a specified state or condition: dropped into a doze; drop out of sight.
  7. Sports To fall or roll into a basket or hole. Used of a ball.
v.   tr.
  1. To let fall by releasing hold of.
  2. To let fall in drops.
  3. To cause to become less; reduce: drop the rate of production.
  4. To cause to fall, as by hitting or shooting.
  5. Sports To hurl or strike (a ball) into a basket or hole.
  6. To give birth to. Used of animals.
  7. To say or offer casually: drop a hint; drop a name.
  8. To write at one's leisure: drop me a note.
  9. To cease consideration or treatment of: dropped the matter altogether.
  10. To terminate an association or a relationship with. See Synonyms at dismiss.
  11. To leave unfinished: drop everything and help.
  12. To leave out (a letter, for example) in speaking or writing.
  13. To leave or set down at a particular place; unload.
  14. Informal To spend, especially lavishly or rashly: "dropping $50,000 in an Atlantic City casino" (George F. Will).
  15. To parachute.
  16. To lower the level of (the voice).
  17. To lose (a game or contest, for example).
  18. Slang To take, as a drug, by mouth: drop acid.
  19. To fall asleep.
  20. To decrease: Sales dropped off in the fourth quarter.
  21. To withdraw from participation, as in a game, club, or school.
  22. To withdraw from established society, especially because of disillusion with conventional values.
Phrasal Verb(s):
drop backFootball To back away from the line of scrimmage.
drop behindTo fall behind: dropped behind the rest of the class during her illness.
drop byTo stop in for a short visit.
drop off
  1. To fall asleep.
  2. To decrease: Sales dropped off in the fourth quarter.
drop out
  1. To withdraw from participation, as in a game, club, or school.
  2. To withdraw from established society, especially because of disillusion with conventional values.

Idiom(s):
at the drop of a hat
  1. Immediately; without delay: would sign the contract at the drop of a hat.
  2. With only the slightest provocation: ready to argue at the drop of a hat.

Idiom(s):
drop a dime Slang To make a telephone call, especially to the police to inform on or betray someone.

Idiom(s):
drop in the bucketA small, inadequate quantity.

Idiom(s):
get/have the drop onTo achieve a distinct advantage over.

[Middle English droppe, from Old English dropa; see dhreu- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Drop

Drop\, n. [OE. drope, AS. dropa; akin to OS. dropo, D. drop, OHG. tropo, G. tropfen, Icel. dropi, Sw. droppe; and Fr. AS. dre['o]pan to drip, drop; akin to OS. driopan, D. druipen, OHG. triofan, G. triefen, Icel. drj?pa. Cf. Drip, Droop.]

1. The quantity of fluid which falls in one small spherical mass; a liquid globule; a minim; hence, also, the smallest easily measured portion of a fluid; a small quantity; as, a drop of water.

With minute drops from off the eaves. --Milton.

As dear to me as are the ruddy drops That visit my sad heart. -- Shak.

That drop of peace divine. --Keble.

2. That which resembles, or that which hangs like, a liquid drop; as a hanging diamond ornament, an earring, a glass pendant on a chandelier, a sugarplum (sometimes medicated), or a kind of shot or slug.

3. (Arch.) (a) Same as Gutta. (b) Any small pendent ornament.

4. Whatever is arranged to drop, hang, or fall from an elevated position; also, a contrivance for lowering something; as: (a) A door or platform opening downward; a trap door; that part of the gallows on which a culprit stands when he is to be hanged; hence, the gallows itself. (b) A machine for lowering heavy weights, as packages, coal wagons, etc., to a ship's deck. (c) A contrivance for temporarily lowering a gas jet. (d) A curtain which drops or falls in front of the stage of a theater, etc. (e) A drop press or drop hammer. (f) (Mach.) The distance of the axis of a shaft below the base of a hanger.

5. pl. Any medicine the dose of which is measured by drops; as, lavender drops.

6. (Naut.) The depth of a square sail; -- generally applied to the courses only. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

7. Act of dropping; sudden fall or descent.

Ague drop, Black drop. See under Ague, Black.

Drop by drop, in small successive quantities; in repeated portions. "Made to taste drop by drop more than the bitterness of death." --Burke.

Drop curtain. See Drop, n., 4. (d) .

Drop forging. (Mech.) (a) A forging made in dies by a drop hammer. (b) The process of making drop forgings.

Drop hammer (Mech.), a hammer for forging, striking up metal, etc., the weight being raised by a strap or similar device, and then released to drop on the metal resting on an anvil or die.

Drop kick (Football), a kick given to the ball as it rebounds after having been dropped from the hands.

Drop lake, a pigment obtained from Brazil wood. --Mollett.

Drop letter, a letter to be delivered from the same office where posted.

Drop press (Mech.), a drop hammer; sometimes, a dead-stroke hammer; -- also called drop.

Drop scene, a drop curtain on which a scene is painted. See Drop, n., 4. (d) .

Drop seed. (Bot.) See the List under Glass.

Drop serene. (Med.) See Amaurosis.

Drop

Drop\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Droppedor Dropt; p. pr. & vb. n. Dropping.] [OE. droppen, AS. dropan, v. i. See Drop, n.]

1. To pour or let fall in drops; to pour in small globules; to distill. "The trees drop balsam." --Creech.

The recording angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever. --Sterne.

2. To cause to fall in one portion, or by one motion, like a drop; to let fall; as, to drop a line in fishing; to drop a courtesy.

3. To let go; to dismiss; to set aside; to have done with; to discontinue; to forsake; to give up; to omit.

They suddenly drop't the pursuit. --S. Sharp.

That astonishing ease with which fine ladies drop you and pick you up again. --Thackeray.

The connection had been dropped many years. -- Sir W. Scott.

Dropping the too rough H in Hell and Heaven. --Tennyson.

4. To bestow or communicate by a suggestion; to let fall in an indirect, cautious, or gentle manner; as, to drop hint, a word of counsel, etc.

5. To lower, as a curtain, or the muzzle of a gun, etc.

6. To send, as a letter; as, please drop me a line, a letter, word.

7. To give birth to; as, to drop a lamb.

8. To cover with drops; to variegate; to bedrop.

Show to the sun their waved coats dropped with gold. --Milton.

To drop a vessel (Naut.), to leave it astern in a race or a chase; to outsail it.

Drop

Drop\, v. i. 1. To fall in drops.

The kindly dew drops from the higher tree, And wets the little plants that lowly dwell. --Spenser.

2. To fall, in general, literally or figuratively; as, ripe fruit drops from a tree; wise words drop from the lips.

Mutilations of which the meaning has dropped out of memory. --H. Spencer.

When the sound of dropping nuts is heard. --Bryant.

3. To let drops fall; to discharge itself in drops.

The heavens . . . dropped at the presence of God. --Ps. lxviii. 8.

4. To fall dead, or to fall in death.

Nothing, says Seneca, so soon reconciles us to the thoughts of our own death, as the prospect of one friend after another dropping round us. --Digby.

5. To come to an end; to cease; to pass out of mind; as, the affair dropped. --Pope.

6. To come unexpectedly; -- with in or into; as, my old friend dropped in a moment. --Steele.

Takes care to drop in when he thinks you are just seated. --Spectator.

7. To fall or be depressed; to lower; as, the point of the spear dropped a little.

8. To fall short of a mark. [R.]

Often it drops or overshoots by the disproportion of distance. --Collier.

9. To be deep in extent; to descend perpendicularly; as, her main topsail drops seventeen yards.

To drop astern (Naut.), to go astern of another vessel; to be left behind; to slacken the speed of a vessel so as to fall behind and to let another pass a head.

To drop down (Naut.), to sail, row, or move down a river, or toward the sea.

To drop off, to fall asleep gently; also, to die. [Colloq.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : drop
Spanish: gota,
German: der Tropfen,
Japanese: しずく
More Translations »

drop  (n.)
O.E. dropa, from P.Gmc. drupon, from PIE *dhreub-. The verb (O.E.) originally meant "fall in drops;" trans. sense "allow to fall" is c.1340. Meaning "lozenge, hard candy" is 1723. Dim. form droplet is from 1607. Drop in the bucket (1382) is from Isa. ix.15 [K.J.V.]. Exclamation drop dead is from 1934; as an adj. meaning "stunning, excellent" it is first recorded 1970. At the drop of a hat "suddenly" is from 1854; drop-in "casual visit" is 1819; drop-kick is 1857; drop-out (n.) first attested 1930.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1drop
Pronunciation: 'dräp
Function: noun
1 a : the quantity of fluid that falls in one spherical mass bdrops pl : a dose of medicine measured by drops; specifically : a solution for dilating the pupil of the eye
2 : the smallest practicalunit of liquid measure that varies in size according to the specific gravity and viscosity of the liquid and to the conditions under which it is formed —compare MINIM

Main Entry: 2drop
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: dropped; drop·ping
intransitive senses
: to fall in drops droptransitive senses
1 of an animal : to give birth to dropped in June>
2 : to take (a drug) orally <drop acid>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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drop (drŏp)
n.

  1. The smallest quantity of liquid heavy enough to fall in a spherical mass.
  2. A volume of liquid equal to 1/76 of a teaspoon and regarded as a unit of dosage for medication.
  3. A small globular piece of candy, usually readily dissolved in the mouth.
v. dropped, drop·ping, drops
To fall, be dispensed, or poured in drops.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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drop

In addition to the idioms beginning with drop, also see at the drop of a hat; bottom drops out of; get the drop on; hear a pin drop; let drop; wait for the other shoe to drop.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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