drop by
verb
Simple meaning
To visit informally and spontaneously.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
drahpbySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɹɑpˈbaɪ
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.
verb
colloquial
To visit informally and spontaneously.
“We frequently drop by the neighbors' house for a cup of coffee.”
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: To visit informally and spontaneously.
Used this way, drop by is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.