drop

verb (drops, dropping, dropped)

• 1let or make (something) fall vertically:the fire was caused by someone dropping a lighted cigarette they dropped bombs on Caen during the raid
• deliver (supplies or troops) by parachute:the airlift dropped food into the camp
• Rugby score (a goal) by a drop kick: (as adjective dropped)Botha responded with a superb dropped goal
• (of an animal) give birth to (young).
• informal take (a drug, especially LSD) orally:he dropped a lot of acid in the Sixties

• 2 [no object and usually with adverbial] fall vertically:the spoon dropped with a clatter from her hand
• (of a person) allow oneself to fall; let oneself down without jumping:they escaped by climbing out of the window and dropping to the ground
• (of a person or animal) sink to or towards the ground:he dropped to his knees in the mud
• informal collapse or die from exhaustion:he looked ready to drop
• (of ground) slope steeply down:the land drops away to the river

• 3make or become lower, weaker, or less: [with object]:he dropped his voice as she came into the room [no object]:pre-tax profits dropped by 37 per cent tourism has dropped off in the last few years

• 4abandon or discontinue (a course of action or study):the charges against him were dropped last year
• discard or exclude (someone or something):they were dropped from the team in the reshuffle
• informal stop associating with:I was under pressure from family and friends to drop Barbara

• 5set down or unload (a passenger or goods), especially on the way to somewhere else:he dropped the load off at a dealer’s his mum dropped him outside and drove off to work
• [with object and adverbial] put or leave in a particular place without ceremony or formality:just drop it in the post when you’ve got time
• mention in passing, typically in order to impress:she dropped a remark about having been included in the selection
• British informal (of a DJ) select and play (a record):various guest DJs drop quality tunes both old and new
• informal release ( a musical recording).

• 6(in sport) fail to win (a point or a match):the club have yet to drop a point in the Second Division
• informal lose (money) through gambling:he reckoned I’d dropped forty thousand pounds

• 7 Bridge force or be forced to play (a relatively high card) as a loser under an opponent’s higher card, because it is the only card in its suit held in the hand: East drops the 10 on the second round

noun

• 1a small round or pear-shaped portion of liquid that hangs or falls or adheres to a surface:the first drops of rain splashed on the ground
• [often with negative] a very small amount of liquid:there was not a drop of water in sight
• [usually with negative] a small drink of spirits:he doesn’t touch a drop during the week
• (drops) liquid medication to be measured or applied in very small amounts:eye drops

• 2 [usually in singular] an instance of falling or dropping:they left within five minutes of the drop of the curtain
• an act of dropping supplies or troops by parachute:the planes finally managed to make the drop
• a fall in amount, quality, or rate:a significant drop in consumer spending
• an abrupt or steep fall or slope:standing on the lip of a sixty-foot drop
• (the drop) informal the relegation of a sports team to a lower league or division: they only just avoided the drop last season
• (the drop) Bridge the playing of a high card underneath an opponent’s higher card, because it is the only card in its suit held in the hand: do you play for the drop now or finesse the 9?

• 3something that drops or is dropped, in particular:
• a section of theatrical scenery lowered from the flies; a drop cloth or drop curtain.
• a trapdoor on a gallows, the opening of which causes the prisoner to fall and thus be hanged: warders, standing on planks, invariably flanked the prisoners on the drop
• (the drop) execution by hanging.

• [usually with modifier] a sweet or lozenge:a chocolate drop

• 5 informal a delivery:I got to the depot and made the drop
• US a letter box.
• a hiding place for stolen, illicit, or secret things:the lavatory’s water cistern could be used as a letter drop