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Glite Dictionary
to drop like flies

to drop like flies

8 6.9
A lot of people suddenly fall ill or collapse
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : caer como moscas
  • Our men are dropping like flies.
  • people drop like flies
  • start dropping like flies
  • Men drop like flies

Examples

  • People are dropping like flies.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • During the flu outbreak, students started to drop like flies, forcing the school to close early.

  • Their fan base would drop like flies.

    Blog text (30)

  • All the good ones are dropping like flies.

    This Is Our Time (2013)

  • After that, we start dropping like flies.

    Eden (2015)

  • People were dropping like flies all around me!

    Julie & Julia (2009)

  • We're dropping like flies out here.

    Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

  • Or the stifling summers, when people dropped like flies.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • It was a terrible kind of situation and people started dropping like flies from typhus.

  • Everyone is alive at age zero, and almost everyone survives until age 50 or 60, at which point they start dropping like flies; hardly anyone gets beyond 100.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

to drop dead
vsto drop like flies
  • Informal
52 8.4

Die suddenly, often from shock or extreme tiredness

describes many people collapsing or dying quickly rather than an isolated case
to pop off
vsto drop like flies
  • Informal
1 9.1

To die, often said as a joke to make it seem less serious

describes many people collapsing quickly rather than one joked-about death
to fall off one's perch
vsto drop like flies
  • UK
9.3

To die or suddenly lose an important position

refers to many people collapsing quickly rather than one sudden loss or demotion

Antonyms

to survive
∞ 2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

to thrive
241 3.2

To grow well and be successful

Surface Forms

drop like flies infinitive

Morphology

drop + like + fly

The phrase combines the literal verb 'drop' (to fall) with the simile 'like flies' (suggesting many individuals), so a learner who knows the words can infer a sense of many people falling or failing in large numbers. However, the extension to sudden illness, collapse, or death is a metaphorical, context-dependent shift (and can also mean dropping out), so the precise sense is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Drop like flies gives a clear picture: imagine insect spray making lots of flies drop dead at once. That's why it means 'many people or things suddenly fall sick, collapse, or die'.