drop
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
drahpIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɹɑp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
pharmacologychiefly in the plural
A liquid medicine that is intended to be administered in drops (sense 1).
also figuratively
A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid.
figuratively
A very small quantity of liquid, or (by extension) of anything.
pharmacology
A dose of liquid medicine in the form of a drop (sense 1).
chiefly australiabritish
A small amount of an alcoholic beverage.
chiefly british
Usually preceded by the: alcoholic spirits in general.
verb
intransitivealso figuratively
To fall (straight down) under the influence of gravity, like a drop of liquid.
To fall vertically
“The bombs are dropping on enemy targets.”
intransitive
To fall or sink quickly or suddenly to the ground.
intransitive
To collapse in exhaustion or injury; also, to fall dead, or to fall in death.
intransitive
To fall into a particular condition or state.
intransitive
To come to an end (by not being kept up); to lapse, to stop.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own round shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid.
Used this way, drop is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. This sense is about measurement, so it is used where accuracy is the point.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use drop
- “Don't drop the dishes.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Pipet consisting of a small tube with a vacuum bulb at one end for drawing liquid in and releasing it a drop at a time.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Visit informally and spontaneously.
Give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope.
A curtain that can be lowered and raised onto a stage from the flies.
A curtain that can be lowered and raised onto a stage from the flies.
Extremely.
Fall or descend to a lower place or level.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A tiny drop.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.