drop
/dɹɑp/noun, verb
drop is spelled D-R-O-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 98 times per million words in written English, the 1,112th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, drop means “A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own rounded shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of drop is drops.
How many letters and syllables are in drop?
| Letters | 4: D-R-O-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 98 times per million words; the 1,112th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is drop?
Drop appears 98 times per million words in written English, the 1,112th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce drop?
- UK /dɹɒp/
- US /dɹɑp/
- US [dɹɑp]
Drop has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-drop.ogg, En-au-drop.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with drop?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as drop from its last stressed vowel (/ɑp/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: prod, dorp.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of drop
- drops plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- drap
- dropping participle, present
- dropped participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does drop mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small quantity of liquid, just large enough to hold its own rounded shape through surface tension, especially one that falls from a source of liquid.
Put three drops of oil into the mixture.
- 2
A dose of liquid medicine in the form of a drop (sense 1).
- 3
A liquid medicine that is intended to be administered in drops (sense 1).
ear drops eye drops
- 4
A very small quantity of liquid, or (by extension) of anything.
My aunt asked for just a drop more tea.
- 5
AustraliaUKA small amount of an alcoholic beverage.
He usually enjoys a drop after dinner. She won’t touch a drop while she’s on duty.
- 6
UKUsually preceded by the: alcoholic spirits in general.
It doesn’t matter where you’re from, anyone who enjoys the drop is a friend of mine.
- 7
IrelandinformalA single measure of whisky.
- 8
Often preceded by a defining word: a small, round piece of hard candy, such as a lemon drop or piece of licorice; a lozenge.
verb
- 1
Of a liquid: to fall in drops or droplets.
- 2
To fall (straight down) under the influence of gravity, like a drop of liquid.
A single shot was fired and the bird dropped from the sky.
- 3
Of an item: To appear for the player to pick up, usually after an enemy has been defeated.
When you defeat this boss, there's a chance a power-up will drop.
- 4
To fall or sink quickly or suddenly to the ground.
Drop and give me thirty push-ups, private!
- 5
To collapse in exhaustion or injury; also, to fall dead, or to fall in death.
- 6
To fall into a particular condition or state.
- 7
To come to an end (by not being kept up); to lapse, to stop.
- 8
To decrease, diminish, or lessen in condition, degree, value, etc.
The stock dropped 1.5% yesterday.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Drop in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | goutte, larme , chute , vide , réglisse , tomber |
| German | Tropfen , Fall, Sturz , Bonbon, Drops , Abstieg |
| Portuguese | pingo, gota , queda , doce de alcaçuz , dropes , drop |
| Spanish | gota , caída , declive, descenso , arrezuz, regaliz |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does drop come from?
From Late Middle English droppe, Middle English drope (“small quantity of liquid; small or least amount of something; pendant jewel; dripping of a liquid; a shower; nasal flow, catarrh; speck, spot; blemish; disease causing spots on the skin”) [and other forms], from Old English dropa (“a drop”), from Proto-West Germanic *dropō (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Germanic *drupô (“drop (of liquid)”),, from *dreupaną (“to drip, droop”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to drip, drop”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).