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to drop

to drop

1 6.7
To make a musical note lower in pitch
  • verb
  • /drɑp/
: bajar el tono
  • I dropped my voice down as low as it would go, which these days is pretty low.
  • drop your voice
  • drop the pitch
  • drop an octave

So many Soundgarden songs use drop D or.

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Examples

  • Her voice dropped low.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Dale sang a fast, energetic song, his voice swinging up high and dropping down low.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • So, you really think it dropped an octave?

  • "Send us a sign of your presence," and I let my voice drop lower, almost to a whisper.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • "I'm not interested," I told him, letting my voice drop as low as I could, down to Lauren Bacall range.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Benjamin leaned even closer, his voice dropping to barely a whisper.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Lydia's voice dropped in pitch, taking on a sudden huskiness, and the tempo slowed.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "You're admiring my pottery, Liberty?" Roz said slowly, her voice dropping to a husky whisper.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • When performing the song, I had to drop the melody down a half step to match my vocal range.

  • To make it easier to sing, the choir director asked us to drop the pitch of the song by one octave.

Synonyms

to deepen
vsto drop
2 3.5

Make a voice or sound lower in pitch

lowers the pitch of notes or melodies specifically rather than general voice change
to flatten
vsto drop
  • Specialized
1 6.8

Lower a musical note by a half step

lowers pitch more generally without stating the exact interval

Idioms

to drop the ball
  • Informal
38 6.1

Fail to do something you are responsible for

To tell people shocking news suddenly

15 4.9

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

drop-dead
  • Informal
15 6.7

Very attractive or impressive

13 4.2

Immediately and without delay

9 6.9

A lot of people suddenly fall ill or collapse

6 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
4 9.9

To go to the toilet to poop in informal speech

to drop the mic
  • Texting
2 8.8

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

2 3.8

A very small amount compared with what is needed

to drop the soap
  • Offensive
2 9.9

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

to drop the f-bomb
  • Offensive
1 9.9

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

To surprise someone very much

1 8.6

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

To fall suddenly to a much lower level

drop in the pond
  • Informal
1 5.8

A very small amount compared with what is needed

drop in the sea
  • Informal
1 5.5

A very small amount compared with what is needed

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

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

9.9

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

A sudden end that causes death or total ruin

Delay acting until an important event happens

Phrasal Verbs

579 3.0

To take someone or something to a place and leave them there

304 3.0

To leave a course, competition or group before finishing

to drop by
  • Informal
197 2.5

To visit someone or a place for a short time without planning

to drop in
  • Informal
93 3.6

Visit someone without arranging it first

90 1.8

To fall from a higher place to a lower place

to drop dead
  • Informal
87 8.4

Die suddenly, often from shock or extreme tiredness

29 2.9

To fall from where it is fixed or held

22 3.6

To move to a position behind other players, for example to prepare a pass or to help defend

21 3.5

To become less in number or amount

To send a short message to keep in touch

9 4.0

To move back from a place or position, often to a safer spot

To lower an anchor to hold a boat in one place

4 3.7

To have the mouth or jaw suddenly fall open because of surprise

4 3.3

To become less over time

To suggest something in a quiet, indirect way

2 4.4

To leave normal society and live a much simpler life

to drop off
  • Informal
2 3.0

To fall asleep for a short time, often without meaning to

2 7.5

To stop being seen or heard from by others

To decide not to continue with a plan or suggestion

To fall behind others because you move or work more slowly

To leave someone at a swimming pool after giving them a ride

Officially stop attending a class before it ends

to mic drop
  • Slang
1 8.1

To end a speech or comment with an impressive move to show nothing more is needed

to drop a load
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To poop and get rid of solid waste from your body

1 7.5

Stop taking part because it becomes too difficult

1 2.3

To visit someone informally to have coffee and chat

To stop talking about a subject

1 6.9

Lose a game in tennis when you are the player who starts the point

To wash some clothes at one time

To stop a court case by canceling the official paper that starts it

to drop out
  • Specialized
5.9

To stop using some parts of a machine learning model at random during training so it learns better

Compounds

29 2.2

A place to leave people or things

15 1.7

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

drop zone
  • Specialized
10 6.0

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

10 3.9

A sudden decrease in amount, quality or rate

drop-down
  • Specialized
10 3.9

A list of choices that appears below when you click it

9 3.4

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

dead drop
  • Jargon
7 9.3

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

drop-down menu
  • Specialized
5 3.2

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

4 3.0

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

3 1.3

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

3 5.5

A very steep edge of land or rock

drop-in
  • Specialized
3 3.7

Designed to fit and work without changes

2 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

voltage drop
  • Specialized
1 4.7

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

drop shot
  • Specialized
1 3.8

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

drop forge
  • Specialized
1 9.1

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

mic drop
  • Slang
1 8.0

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

1 3.5

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

drop bear
  • Australian
1 9.9

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

1 7.8

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

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

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

1 4.6

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

drop curtain
  • Specialized
1 5.1

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

drop hammer
  • Specialized
1 8.2

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

drop zone
  • Specialized
1 3.8

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

potential drop
  • Specialized
1 7.0

The difference in electric voltage between two points in a circuit

drop arch
  • Specialized
8.7

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

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 press
  • Specialized
8.8

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

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

How Low

to lower
408 1.0
to drop
1 6.7
to flatten
  • Specialized
1 6.8

Surface Forms

drop infinitive
dropped past
dropped past participle
dropping present participle
drops third person singular

Etymology

To drop a note or chord is to make the sound go down, like a voice or string that 'falls' in pitch, so to drop is to lower the musical tone.