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Glite Dictionary
to drop one's jaw

to drop one's jaw

4.4
Open your mouth wide in surprise
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : quedarse boquiabierto
  • She couldn't help but drop her jaw in disbelief when she heard the incredible news.

Examples

  • Everyone at the party watched in awe as his jaw dropped when he saw the surprise guests.

  • The audience dropped their jaws in amazement as the magician performed his final trick.

  • Watch the king drop his jaw

    Trolls (2016)

Synonyms

to gape
vsto drop one's jaw
14 3.8

To look with your mouth open in surprise or wonder

is the emphasis on a wide mouth opening rather than on staring
to drop open
vsto drop one's jaw
3 3.7

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

is a wide mouth opening from amazement rather than any body part falling

Antonyms

to shut one's mouth
  • Informal
4 4.4

To stop talking to keep a secret or when told to be quiet

How Surprised

to drop one's jaw
  • Informal
4.4
gasp
312 1.8

Surface Forms

drop one's jaw infinitive
dropped one's jaw past
dropped one's jaw past participle
dropping one's jaw present participle
drops one's jaw third person singular

Morphology

drop + one + jaw

The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'drop' (let fall) applied to a body part 'jaw' evokes the image of the lower jaw falling open in surprise, so a learner who knows both words can infer 'open one's mouth wide in amazement.' This is a transparent, physically motivated metaphor that is common cross-linguistically and follows straightforward composition, making it accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Drop one's jaw comes from the simple image of the lower jaw looking like it falls down when someone is very surprised, so their mouth opens wide. That's why the phrase means 'to open one's mouth wide in surprise or amazement'.