to drop off
5
3.0
- phrasal verb
- /drɑp ɔf/
- Informal
:
dormirse
- I'm awake, I'm awake, I was only just dropping off.
- dropped off to sleep
- dropped off at night
- dropped off while thinking
Examples
-
I dropped off to sleep on my bed this afternoon, had a bad dream.
-
She'd fallen asleep about ten; she thought she remembered the sound of the television just before she dropped off.
Fiction book (1993) -
Heard she might have dropped off in your fair city.
-
I do still if I happen to drop off in the afternoon.
-
My mind was a blank; I was about to drop off.
Fiction book (1992) -
Too uptight to sleep at first, I finally dropped off.
Fiction book (2002) -
Often, about halfway through our hour, he'd drop off into sleep.
Fiction book (1997) -
I've been sleepless, waking at 3 a.m., then not being able to drop off at night.
Blog text (13) -
Before dropping off to sleep, he remembered that the house smelled of fried bacon.
Fiction book (1997) -
After a long day of travel, I could feel myself dropping off to sleep before I even hit the pillow.
Synonyms
376
1.0
To start sleeping
43
2.3
To sleep lightly for a short time without meaning to
35
2.7
To fall asleep for a short time without meaning to
23
3.8
To slowly fall asleep without meaning to
12
4.1
To fall asleep for a short time without meaning to
7
8.1
To stop working suddenly or to fall asleep because of tiredness
7
2.1
To sleep lightly for a short time, often during the day
4
3.7
To go to bed and fall asleep quickly because you are tired
2
7.9
To fall asleep by accident because you are very tired
2
8.3
To fall asleep or pass out very quickly because you are very tired
1
7.6
To fall asleep suddenly because you are very tired
To begin to fall asleep without meaning to
Antonyms
How Sleepy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to fall from a position' is directly and compositionally derived from 'drop' (to fall or let fall) plus 'off' (away from a surface/place). This is a common, literal verb+particle spatial construction found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Drop off The phrasal verb drop off describes how a person's head or body seems to fall when they sleep; drop and off give the picture of dropping away, like your head nodding on the sofa. So, it means 'to fall asleep'.