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drop

drop

41 5.3
A steep high face of rock, like a cliff
  • noun
  • /drɑp/
translation icon : precipicio
  • Standing at the edge of the cliff, I could see the dramatic drop of 200 feet to the rocky shore below.
  • a steep drop
  • a drop-off

And it's a straight drop from my shoulder right down to my heel.

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Examples

  • We're over the drop zone.

  • Think you can get us back to that drop zone, boy?

  • And from there you could see it, it's a straight down drop in the market.

  • And then we have our drop right there.

  • It's just my mom will show you some B roll of the view and the drop from this bridge there.

  • We walked about 40 feet and encountered a very steep drop in the canyon floor.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The stairs descended from the other end, and a ten-foot drop lay before him.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The Buick wound higher and higher along a road with a sheer drop on one side.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Keiko shivered at the thought of the long drop to the ground.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • When the fog lifts, the abrupt drop to the ocean becomes steeper and more hypnotic.

    Academic text (2010)

Synonyms

cliff
vsdrop
438 1.0

A high, steep edge of rock or ground often by the sea

is the general term for steep faces in any landscape or along paths
descent
vsdrop
89 3.7

A movement down from a higher place to a lower place or a slope that goes down

is the physical steep high face rather than the movement downward
drop-off
vsdrop
5 5.5

A very steep edge of land or rock

is similar but can be less abrupt and occur as any steep slope

Idioms

to drop the ball
  • Informal
38 6.1

Fail to do something you are responsible for

15 4.9

A very small amount that does not help with a much larger problem

13 4.2

Immediately and without delay

drop-dead
  • Informal
11 6.7

Very attractive or impressive

8 6.9

A lot of people suddenly fall ill or collapse

7 9.8

To tell the police about someone's crime, often secretly

To suddenly tell people something very surprising that shocks them

to drop a deuce
  • Offensive
3 9.9

To go to the toilet to poop in informal speech

To tell people shocking news suddenly

2 3.8

A very small amount compared with what is needed

to drop the soap
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Become vulnerable to sexual attack in prison, often used as a grim joke or warning

to drop the mic
  • Texting
1 8.8

Finish speaking or performing in a confident, impressive way that needs no reply

to drop a bollock
  • Offensive
9.9

To make a serious, embarrassing mistake by being careless

9.9

To let food fall by accident or make an embarrassing mistake

9.7

To use the F-word to shock people

drop in the pond
  • Informal
5.8

A very small amount compared with what is needed

drop in the sea
  • Informal
5.5

A very small amount compared with what is needed

9.7

To suddenly and completely stop supporting something

To suddenly lose control of your feelings because you feel overwhelmed

4.4

Open your mouth wide in surprise

To fall suddenly to a much lower level

to drop the f-bomb
  • Offensive
9.9

Say the rude word 'fuck', often in a situation where it surprises or offends people

8.6

To prepare for a real fight or, informally, to stop fighting and start working together

9.9

Suddenly bring up a shocking topic to change the tone of a discussion

To surprise someone very much

A sudden end that causes death or total ruin

Delay acting until an important event happens

Compounds

35 2.2

A place to leave people or things

drop-in
  • Specialized
19 3.7

Designed to fit and work without changes

12 1.7

A small sweet with medicine that helps a sore throat and stops coughing

10 3.9

A sudden decrease in amount, quality or rate

drop-down
  • Specialized
9 3.9

A list of choices that appears below when you click it

drop zone
  • Specialized
9 6.0

An area where supplies or soldiers are dropped from a plane by parachute

6 3.4

A small drop of medicine put into the eye to help it feel better

dead drop
  • Jargon
5 9.3

A secret place where people leave messages or items for others to collect without meeting

5 5.5

A very steep edge of land or rock

drop-down menu
  • Specialized
4 3.2

A list of options that appears below a menu item so you can choose one

3 1.3

A small hard candy with lemon flavor, usually yellow and shaped like a lemon

2 3.0

A large cloth that you put over floors or furniture during painting

1 1.0

A small round piece of water that hangs on leaves after rain

1 3.2

An earring that hangs below the earlobe with a small decoration

1 7.4

A car with a roof that you can fold down or remove

drop shot
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A soft shot in tennis that lands just over the net and drops quickly, hard to reach

voltage drop
  • Specialized
1 4.7

A loss of electrical pressure when current goes through a wire or part of a circuit

1 3.5

A small soft biscuit you make by dropping dough from a spoon and baking

1 4.6

A small, thick pancake made by dropping spoonfuls of batter onto a hot pan

mic drop
  • Slang
1 8.0

An impressive ending to a speech or performance that shows nothing more needs saying

drop arch
  • Specialized
8.7

An arch with a gently pointed, shallow curve used in buildings

drop bear
  • Australian
9.9

A fake dangerous animal Australians joke about that falls from trees onto people to scare tourists

drop keel
  • Specialized
8.3

A fin under a sailboat that you raise or lower to stop the boat sliding sideways

drop line
  • Jargon
7.5

A headline where each line after the first is indented more to the right

drop cloth
  • Specialized
4.8

A large curtain that people lower from above to make a background on a stage

drop curtain
  • Specialized
5.1

A large curtain hung above the stage that lowers to make background scenery

drop forge
  • Specialized
9.1

A heavy machine that shapes hot metal by dropping a large hammer

drop hammer
  • Specialized
8.2

A large machine that shapes metal by dropping a heavy weight onto it

drop zone
  • Specialized
3.8

A place on a screen where you drag files to upload or move them

drop press
  • Specialized
8.8

A machine that shapes metal by dropping a heavy weight onto it

7.8

A hinged part of a table you lift to make more space

A fee you pay for returning a rented car to a different place

A table with sides that fold down to save space and lift up to make it larger

drop-seed
  • Specialized
9.4

A grass with very small seeds that fall off easily

needle drop
  • Jargon
7.9

A moment when a song starts in a film or show that makes the scene more powerful

potential drop
  • Specialized
7.0

The difference in electric voltage between two points in a circuit

How Steep

precipice
27 7.4
cliff
438 1.0
drop
41 5.3
slope
101 1.4
hill
1.0

Surface Forms

drop singular
drops plural

Etymology

A drop for a steep edge comes from the idea of the ground suddenly 'falling' away; so a drop is a sharp, vertical fall in the land.