I. ˈdräp noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English drope, drop, from Old English dropa; akin to Old Saxon dropo drop, Old High German tropfo, troffo, Old Norse dropi, Old Irish drucht drop, Old English drēopan to drip, Old Saxon driopan, Old High German triofan, Old Norse drjūpa to drip, Gothic driusan to fall — more at dreary
1.
a.
(1) : the quantity of fluid which falls in one spherical or spheroidal mass : a liquid globule
(2) drops plural : a medicine the dose of which is measured by drops ; specifically : a solution (as of atropine) for dilating the pupil of the eye
b.
(1) : a minute quantity or degree of something nonmaterial or intangible
wrings the last drop of meaning from the word
has not a drop of kindness in him
(2) obsolete : an old Scottish unit of weight equal to 1/16 oz.
(3) : a small quantity or portion of drink especially of an alcoholic beverage
obviously had had a drop too much
(4) : the smallest practical unit of liquid measure varying in size according to the specific gravity and viscosity of the liquid and to the conditions under which the drop is formed — compare minim
(5) : a minute quantity of some nonliquid substance
a mere drop of animated jelly — Encyc. Americana
c. : something that hangs like or resembles a liquid drop: as
(1) : a pendent jewel or ornament attached to a piece of jewelry or jeweled decoration ; also : an earring with such a pendant
(2) : gutta
(3) : pendant r 2a(3)
(4) : a small candy approximately globular in form
chocolate drops
(5) : a small pear-shaped figure occasionally borne as a heraldic charge but more often borne bestrewed in an indefinite number over the field — called also goutte ; see gutt é e
2.
[ drop (II) ]
a.
(1) : the act or an instance of dropping : a fall or descent in space
the slow drop of the idle tears
(2) : a decline in quantity
a relatively mild drop in farm prices
or quality
his reputation took a sudden drop
(3) : a curve in which a baseball breaks down and usually away from a right-handed batter
(4)
[by shortening]
: dropkick
(5) : the act of giving birth to young ; also : the young so born
the entire drop of lambs for the year
(6) : a descent by parachute ; also : the men or equipment dropped by parachute — compare airdrop
(7) : a central point or depository to which something is brought for distribution or transmission ; specifically slang : a place used for the deposit and distribution of stolen goods
b.
(1) : the distance from a higher to a lower level
a drop of 2000 feet from mountain to sea
: the distance through which something drops
made a drop of 15 feet
: a slope or incline often steep or precipitous
a steep drop of 300 feet on the mountain face
(2) : the depth of a course measured at mid-spread from headrope to foot — compare hoist
(3) : the fall in pressure of the steam in a compound steam engine between the high-pressure cylinder and the receiver, or between receiver and low-pressure cylinder
(4) : a fall of electric potential due to resistance of the circuit or other causes
(5) : the distance of the axis of a shaft in a mechanical device below the base of a hanger
(6) : the space through which an unrestrained escape wheel moves while disengaged from the pallets
(7) : the distance of the comb of the butt of a rifle or shotgun below the line of the top of the barrel
(8) music : a fall or reduction in pitch
the octave drops are conspicuous
c. : a slot or other opening into which something is to be dropped
mail drop
also : the receptacle into which the dropped object falls
3.
[ drop (II) ]
: something that drops, hangs, or falls: as
a. : a movable plate serving to cover the keyhole of a lock
b. : an unframed piece of cloth scenery in a theater ; also : drop curtain
c. : a hinged platform or trapdoor on a gallows on which a condemned person stands ; also : the gallows itself
d. : an immature usually unfertilized or diseased fallen fruit ; also : a fallen but normal ripe fruit
a peach drop
e. : a drop hammer or punch press
f. : a shutter in an electric annunciator that drops when the circuit is closed
g. : the group of wires used to extend a power circuit or telephone circuit from a pole to a building
a telephone drop
h. : a structure built in an open drainage channel having excess grade that permits the water to go abruptly from one level to a lower level without injury to the channel
4. : a destructive wilt and stem rot of various garden vegetables (as lettuce) caused by a fungus ( Sclerotinia sclerotiorum ) or a closely related fungus
5. : the advantage of having an opponent covered with a firearm ; also : any kind of advantage or superiority over an opponent — usually used in the phrase get the drop on
kept my eyes open for fear he'd get the drop on me
or have the drop on
the nation enjoying industrial supremacy has the drop on all the others
•
- at the drop of a hat
- drop in the bucket
II. verb
( dropped or archaic dropt ; dropped or archaic dropt ; dropping ; drops )
Etymology: Middle English droppen, from Old English dropian; akin to Old English drēopan to drip — more at drop I
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to fall in drops
a gentle rain dropped
b. archaic : to let drops fall : be so wet that moisture falls in drops
drop with sweat and blood
c. of an animal : defecate
2.
a.
(1) : to fall in any manner
the book dropped from his hand
tunes … dropped into my mind unbidden — Noel Coward
(2) : to descend from one line or level to another
the river drops some 850 feet to virtually sea level — Tom Marvel
: incline downward
the road drops into the valley
b.
(1) : to fall or sink to the ground
under that withering fire men dropped like flies
dropped dead from a heart attack
: fall in a state of collapse (as from exhaustion)
so tired she felt she would drop
(2) : die — sometimes used with off
dropped off peacefully in his sleep
(3) : to let oneself down
she dropped gratefully into the chair
: let oneself fall
dropped safely from a third-story window
(4) : to alight or descend from a vehicle — used with off
dropped off at the square and changed to a suburban bus
(5) of a card : to become played by reason of the obligation to follow suit
the king dropped under the ace
all the trumps dropped
(6) : to withdraw from participation in a poker pot by discarding one's hand or announcing refusal to call the preceding bet — often used with out
c.
(1) : to move (as down a river) with a favoring wind or current — usually used with down
we dropped down the harbor and were soon steering south
(2) : retreat , withdraw — usually used with back
order the troops to drop back
(3) : to fail to maintain a proper or desired pace — usually used with behind
dropped behind in his work
d. of a dog : crouch
3. : stop vi 4d — used with around, by, in, over, up
an old friend just dropped in
4. : to enter as if without conscious effort of will into some state, condition, or activity
dropped into a troubled sleep — Margaret A. Barnes
dropped into reminiscence about old military campaigns
5.
a. : to come to an end : cease to be of concern : cease , lapse
resolved to let the matter drop
: vanish , disappear
b.
(1) : to become less, diminish, or decline in any way (as in force, degree, level, amount)
world production of bauxite dropped
her voice dropped
— often used with off
business drops off in the stores
(2) : fall vi 3b(4)
c. : to withdraw from participation or membership : quit , leave : pass or become lost (as from view or notice)
one man dropped from the group
— often used with out
forced to drop out of amateur athletics — Gilbert Millstein
transitive verb
1.
a. : to let fall or cause to fall in any way
stumbled and dropped the vase
pulled a lever and dropped the missile
a few species of trees drop their leaves in the dry season — P.E.James
dropped anchor in a spacious harbor
b.
(1) : to lower or cause to descend from one line or level to another
the dress would look better if you drop the hem two inches
dropped the water level eight or nine feet
(2) : to lower (wheels) in preparation for landing an airplane
(3) : to cause to lessen or decrease
dropped his speed by three knots
: reduce in quality or degree
(4) : to set down from a ship or vehicle
asked him to drop me at the hotel
: unload , deposit
dropping groceries and beer casks at the port of Louth — C.E.W.Bean
new hotels to care for the 150 passengers that each jet will drop at the big airports — P.J.C.Friedlander
also : air-drop
(5) : to unhitch and drive away from (a trailer or trailing implement)
drop the harrow before driving onto the highway
(6) : to cause (the voice) to be less loud
dropped his voice as he saw strangers approaching
we drop our voice at the end of a sentence
c. : curtsy
she learned … to drop a graceful curtsy — Max Peacock
d.
(1) : to bring down with a shot
leaden slugs dropped his Indians as they worked — Julian Dana
also : to knock down (as in boxing) : floor
as he had dropped the great champion — Donn Byrne
(2) : to force another player to play (a high card) by leading a card to which he must follow suit
he led the ace and dropped the king
(3) sports : to cause (a ball) to fall into a hole or basket
dropped a 3-foot putt
raced down the floor to drop a shot
2.
a. : to pour or let fall in drops
drop a tear
b. archaic : to cover with drops : besprinkle
their waved coats dropped with gold — John Milton
3.
a. : to abandon or give up (as an activity, idea, or concern) : cease to hold, use, or concern oneself with
advised him to drop the matter
permission to drop the course
: leave incomplete
drop a sentence in the middle
: not take into account
drop the four poorest years in computing the average
b. : to break off an association or connection (as friendship, employment) with
drop a failing student
his clubs dropped him
: dismiss
a number of stations and sponsors dropped him — Gilbert Seldes
c.
(1) : to leave behind (as in sailing) : leave
that day they dropped the last of the islands
(2) : to take leave of or dismiss (as a pilot or escort) after a mission is accomplished
the submarine zone left behind, the convoy dropped her destroyer escorts
d. : to use a variant pronunciation that is less accurately represented by (a letter present in the standard orthography, especially g, h, or r ) than is another variant pronunciation: as
(1) : to omit the sound of (as r in wȯ instead of wȯr for war or h in yüj instead of hyüj for huge )
(2) : to substitute another sound for (as r in wȯə instead of wȯr for war or ng for n instead of ŋ in going )
(3) : to omit and compensate for (as r in fääm instead of färm for farm, with compensatory lengthening of ä)
e. : to leave off (an ending) in inflecting a word
a tendency to drop the -ly of certain adverbs
f. : to leave out (as a letter, line, or paragraph) in writing
drop a whole line in copying
4.
a. : to utter or mention in a casual or offhand way
a foreman drops a suggestion
or with pretended casualness
obtained his release by dropping a word in the right quarter
b. : to send (as a letter or postcard) by mail — often used in the phrase drop a line
expected he would drop me a line by now
5. of an animal : to give birth to
lambs dropped in June
6. : to lose (money or a contest)
he was dropping money every day at the track — Ernest Hemingway
the team dropped five straight games
: spend
dropped $200 on her new spring outfit
7. : sink vt 13
8. : to draw from an external point (as from a point to a line or plane)
drop a perpendicular
Synonyms: see dismiss , fall
•
- drop a brick
- drop into
- drop one's lines
III. transitive verb
: to take (a drug) through the mouth : swallow
drop acid
•
- drop a dime
- drop the ball
- drop trou