drop
drop [drop drops dropped dropping] verb, noun BrE [drɒp] NAmE [drɑːp]
verb (-pp-)
FALL
1. intransitive, transitive to fall or allow sth to fall by accident
• The climber slipped and dropped to his death.
•~ sth Be careful not to drop that plate.
2. intransitive, transitive to fall or make sth fall deliberately
•+ adv./prep. He staggered in and dropped into a chair.
•~ sth (+ adv./prep.) Medical supplies are being dropped into the stricken area.
• (BrE)He dropped his trousers (= undid them and let them fall).
• (NAmE)He dropped his pants.
3. 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.
BECOME WEAKER/LESS
4. intransitive, transitive to become or make sth weaker, lower or less
Syn: ↑fall
• The temperature has dropped considerably.
• At last the wind dropped.
•His voice dropped to a whisper.
•The Dutch team have dropped to fifth place.
•The price of shares dropped by 14p.
•Shares dropped in price by 14p.
•~ sth She dropped her voice dramatically.
•You must drop your speed in built-up areas.
EYES
5. intransitive, transitive your eyes/gaze ~ | ~ your eyes/gaze (formal)to look down
•Her eyes dropped to her lap.
SLOPE DOWNWARDS
6. intransitive ~ (away) (from sth) to slope steeply downwards
•In front of them the valley dropped sharply away from the road.
DELIVER/SEND
7. transitive to stop so that sb can get out of a car, etc; to deliver sth on the way to somewhere else
•~ sb/sth Can you drop me near the bank?
•~ sb/sth off You left your jacket, but I can drop it off on my way to work tomorrow.
8. transitive ~ sb a line/note to send a short letter to sb
•Drop me a line when you get there.
LEAVE OUT
9. transitive ~ sb/sth (from sth) to leave sb/sth out by accident or deliberately
•She's been dropped from the team because of injury.
•He spoke with a cockney accent and dropped his aitches (= did not pronounce the letter ‘h’ at the start of words).
FRIENDS
10. transitive ~ sb to stop seeing sb socially
•She's dropped most of her old friends.
STOP
11. transitive ~ sth to stop doing or discussing sth; to not continue with sth
•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.
•Let's drop the formalities— please call me Mike.
•The police decided to drop the charges against her.
HINT
12. transitive ~ a hint to say or do sth in order to show sb, in an indirect way, what you are thinking
IN KNITTING
13. transitive ~ a stitch to let a ↑stitch go off the needle
more at the bottom drops/falls out (of sth) at ↑bottom n., die/fall/drop like flies at ↑fly n., you could/can hear a pin drop at ↑hear, sb's jaw dropped/fell/sagged at ↑jaw n., drop/dump sth in sb's lapsth drops/falls into sb's lap at ↑lap n., the penny drops at ↑penny
Verb forms: 
Word Origin:
Old English dropa (noun), droppian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German Tropfen ‘a drop’, tropfen ‘to drip’, also to ↑drip and ↑droop.
Thesaurus:
drop verb
1. I
•He staggered in and dropped into a chair.
fall • • sink • • crash • • tumble • • come down • • go down •
Opp: rise
drop/fall/sink/crash/tumble/come/go down
2. I
•The temperature has dropped considerably.
fall • • decline • • come down • |formal decrease • |especially business sink • • slump • • plunge • • plummet • • tumble •
Opp: rise, Opp: climb
drop/fall/decline/come down/decrease/sink/slump/plunge/plummet/tumble by 100, 25%, a half, etc.
drop/fall/decline/come down/decrease/sink/slump/plunge/plummet/tumble from 1 500 to 1 000
prices drop/fall/decline/decrease/come down/sink/slump/plunge/plummet/tumble
the temperature drops/falls
sb's voice drops/falls/sinks
Drop, fall or decline? All these words can be used about numbers, levels, prices, profits and sales. Use decline to talk about a loss of economic strength in an area:
•The city/industry has declined (in importance).
A person's health or people's support for sth declines. Voices and temperatures fall or drop. Things can fall or decline over a period of time, but drop cannot be used in the progressive tenses:
•Sales have been falling/declining.
✗ Sales have been dropping.
Language Bank:
fall
Describing 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% down ▪ on the previous year.
▪ There was an 11% drop ▪ in reported thefts from motor vehicles, from 1 871 to 1 737.
▪ These figures show that, as far as car crime is concerned, the main trend is downwards ▪.
Language Banks at ↑expect, ↑illustrate, ↑increase, ↑proportion
Example Bank:
•Both countries have agreed to drop border controls.
•Can't we just let the matter drop?
•He casually drops the latest buzzwords into the conversation.
•He dropped lightly down onto the lawn beneath.
•He has been quietly dropped from the England team.
•He saw Emma and promptly dropped his tray of drinks.
•He slowly dropped to the floor.
•He suddenly dropped his habitual banter.
•Her heart dropped like a stone at this news.
•Her mouth dropped open in disbelief.
•His arms dropped limply to his sides.
•I accidentally dropped my glasses into the water.
•I feel ready to drop.
•I'm ready to drop= because I am so tired.
•Sales are likely to drop further.
•She smiled and let her eyes drop again.
•She was unceremoniously dropped by her record label.
•The cheese drops onto a conveyor underneath.
•The formal grade of Geologist was dropped in favour of Scientific Officer.
•The land dropped steeply away into a small valley.
•The number of children in the class has dropped from 25 to 18.
•The price has dropped by 15 per cent.
•The price of oil has dropped significantly.
•The subject was quietly dropped.
•The temperature rarely drops below 30°C.
•When nobody volunteered, the idea was finally dropped altogether.
•Drop everything and come at once.
•I dropped German when I was 14.
•I think we'd better drop the subject.
•Let's drop the formalities— please call me Mike.
•Look, can we just drop it?
•Sales have fallen/declined/dropped by 20%.
•She's been dropped from the team because of injury.
Idioms: ↑at the drop of a hat ▪ ↑drop a brick ▪ ↑drop dead ▪ ↑drop in the ocean ▪ ↑drop names ▪ ↑drop somebody in it ▪ ↑drop the ball ▪ ↑drop your bundle ▪ ↑let somebody drop
Derived: ↑drop away ▪ ↑drop back ▪ ↑drop behind somebody ▪ ↑drop by ▪ ↑drop in on somebody ▪ ↑drop into something ▪ ↑drop off ▪ ↑drop out
noun
OF LIQUID
1. countable a very small amount of liquid that forms a round shape
•drops of rain
•a drop of blood
• Mix a few drops of milk into the cake mixture.
see also ↑raindrop, ↑teardrop
2. countable, usually singular a small quantity of a liquid
• Could I have a drop more milk in my coffee, please?
• Would you like a drop of brandy?
•I haven't touched a drop (= drunk any alcohol) all evening.
•He drained the last drop of beer from the glass.
FALL
3. countable, usually singular ~ (in sth) a fall or reduction in the amount, level or number of sth
•a drop in prices/temperature, etc.
•a dramatic/sharp drop in profits
• 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.
•a five per cent drop
DISTANCE
4. singular a distance down from a high point to a lower point
•There was a sheer drop of fifty metres to the rocks below.
•a twenty-foot drop
MEDICINE
5. dropsplural 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.
DELIVERING
6. countable the act of delivering sb/sth in a vehicle or by plane; the act of dropping sth
•Aid agencies are organizing food drops to civilians in the war zone.
•a parachute drop
SWEET/CANDY
7. countable a small round sweet/candy of the type mentioned
•fruit drops
•cough drops (= sweets/candy to help a cough)
Word Origin:
Old English dropa (noun), droppian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to German Tropfen ‘a drop’, tropfen ‘to drip’, also to ↑drip and ↑droop.
Thesaurus:
drop noun
1. C
•A few drops of rain fell.
bead • • globule • • splash • • drip • |informal blob •
a drop/bead/splash of blood
a drop/bead of moisture/sweat/perspiration
a drop/splash of water
2. C, usually sing.
•The restaurant suffered a drop in trade.
fall • • decline • • cut • • reduction • • decrease • • downturn •
Opp: rise
a drop/fall/decline/cut/reduction/decrease/downturn in sth
(a) big/huge/massive/major drop/fall/decline/cuts/reduction/downturn
lead to/result in/cause a drop/fall/decline/cut/reduction/decrease
Drop, fall or decline? These words all describe a process that happens, not a deliberate action by sb. Fall and decline can happen over time, but a drop cannot:
•a gradual decline/fall
✗ a gradual drop
Language Bank:
fall
Describing 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% down ▪ on the previous year.
▪ There was an 11% drop ▪ in reported thefts from motor vehicles, from 1 871 to 1 737.
▪ These figures show that, as far as car crime is concerned, the main trend is downwards ▪.
Language Banks at ↑expect, ↑illustrate, ↑increase, ↑proportion
Example Bank:
•Great drops of rain started to fall.
•Large drops of sweat rolled down her face.
•She wiped a drop of water from her chin.
•The cliff plunged in a sheer drop down to the beach.
•The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.
•The restaurant has suffered a big drop in trade.
•Tiny drops of sweat appeared on her forehead.
•We mustn't waste a single drop.
•A few drops of rain fell.
•Can I have a drop more milk in my coffee, please?
•He drained the last few drops from his glass.
•I haven't touched a drop all evening.
•There was a drop of blood on her shirt.
•There was a twenty-foot drop onto the stones beneath.
•We were inches away from a sheer drop to the crashing waves below.
•a fall/drop of 30%
See also: ↑drop in the bucket
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