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 London during the raid
• deliver (supplies or troops) by parachute:the airlift dropped food into the camp
• Rugby score (a goal) by a drop kick.
• (of an animal, especially a mare, cow, or ewe) give birth to (young).
• informal take (a drug, especially LSD) orally:he dropped a lot of acid in the Sixties

• 2 [no object] 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 toward 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 cliff drops ninety yards to the valley below

• 3make or become lower, weaker, or less:he dropped his voice as she came into the room [no object]:pretax profits dropped by 37 percent 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 drop everything and get over here!
• 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
• omit (a letter or syllable) in speech:our English au pair drops her h’s

• 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 mom dropped him outside and drove off to work
• put or leave in a particular place without ceremony or formality:just drop it in the mail when you’ve got time
• mention in passing, typically in order to impress:she dropped a remark about having been included in the selection

• 6(in sports) fail to win (a point, game, or match).
• informal lose (money), especially through gambling:they drifted into a roulette parlor and dropped about fifteen dollars

• 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:West dropped the nine [no object]:the queen dropped

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 drink of alcoholic liquor:he doesn’t touch a drop during the week
• (drops) liquid medicine 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 fall or slope:standing on the lip of a sixty-foot drop
• (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.

• 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.
• (the drop) execution by hanging.

• 4something resembling a drop of liquid in shape, in particular.
• [usually with modifier] a piece of candy or a lozenge:a lemon drop
• a pendant earring.

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