3 → see also drop-out COLLOCATIONS drop VERB 1
drop + adverb : dramatically, sharply, steeply, suddenly; significantly NOUN 1
adjective + drop : sharp, steep, sudden SYNONYMS drop VERB
1
decline: The number of staff has declined from 217,000 to 114,000.
decrease: Population growth is decreasing by 1.4% each year.
falclass="underline" Her weight fell to under seven stone.
plummet: In Tokyo share prices have plummeted for the sixth successive day.
dwindle: The factory's workforce has dwindled from over 4,000 to a few hundred.
3
plunge: At least 50 people died when a bus plunged into a river.
falclass="underline" Bombs fell in the town.
plummet: The jet burst into flames and plummeted to the ground.
dro p-dead ADV [ADV adj] If you describe someone as, for example, drop-dead gorgeous, you mean that they are so gorgeous that people cannot fail to notice them. [INFORMAL ] □ She said that Campbell-Black was drop-dead gorgeous. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Drop-dead is also an adjective. □ …the drop-dead glamour of the designer decade.
dro ^p-down also dropdown ADJ [ADJ n] A drop-down menu, list, or box is a list of options that appears on a computer screen when you select an item with a computer mouse. [COMPUTING ] □ Select 'Delete all' from the drop-down list.
dro p goa l (drop goals ) N‑COUNT In rugby, a drop goal is a goal that a player scores by dropping the ball and kicking it between the posts.
dro p-in ADJ [ADJ n] Drop-in centres or services provide information and help for people with particular problems, usually on a free and informal basis. □ …a drop-in centre for young mothers.
drop|let /drɒ plət/ (droplets ) N‑COUNT A droplet is a very small drop of liquid. □ [+ of ] Droplets of sweat were welling up on his forehead.
dro p-out (drop-outs ) also dropout
1 N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a drop-out , you disapprove of the fact that they have rejected the accepted ways of society, for example by not having a regular job. [DISAPPROVAL ]
2 N‑COUNT A drop-out is someone who has left school or college before they have finished their studies. □ …high-school drop-outs.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] If you refer to the drop-out rate, you are referring to the number of people who leave a school or college early, or leave a course or other activity before they have finished it. □ The drop-out rate among students is currently one in three.
drop|per /drɒ pə r / (droppers ) N‑COUNT A dropper is a small glass tube with a hollow rubber part on one end which you use for drawing up and dropping small amounts of liquid.
drop|pings /drɒ p I ŋz/ N‑PLURAL Droppings are the faeces of birds and small animals. □ …pigeon droppings.
dross /drɒ s, [AM ] drɔː s/ N‑UNCOUNT If you describe something as dross , you mean that it is of very poor quality or has no value. [LITERARY , DISAPPROVAL ] □ I go through phases where everything I write is just dross.
drought /draʊ t/ (droughts ) N‑VAR A drought is a long period of time during which no rain falls. □ Drought and famines have killed up to two million people here.
drove /droʊ v/ Drove is the past tense of drive .
drov|er /droʊ və r / (drovers ) N‑COUNT A drover is someone whose job is to make sheep or cattle move from one place to another in groups.
droves /droʊ vz/ N‑PLURAL [usu in N ] If you say that people are going somewhere or doing something in droves , you are emphasizing that there is a very large number of them. [EMPHASIS ] □ Scientists are leaving the country in droves. [Also + of ]
drown /draʊ n/ (drowns , drowning , drowned )
1 VERB When someone drowns or is drowned , they die because they have gone or been pushed under water and cannot breathe. □ [V ] A child can drown in only a few inches of water. □ [be V -ed] Last night a boy was drowned in the river. □ [V pron-refl] He walked into the sea and drowned himself. □ [V -ing] Dolphins have sometimes been known to save drowning swimmers. [Also V n]
2 VERB If you say that a person or thing is drowning in something, you are emphasizing that they have a very large amount of it, or are completely covered in it. [EMPHASIS ] □ [V + in ] …people who gradually find themselves drowning in debt. □ [be V -ed] The potatoes were drowned in chilli.
3 VERB If something drowns a sound, it is so loud that you cannot hear that sound properly. □ [V n] Clapping drowned the speaker's words for a moment. ● PHRASAL VERB Drown out means the same as drown . □ [V P n] Their cheers drowned out the protests of demonstrators. [Also V n P ]
4 PHRASE If you say that someone is drowning their sorrows , you mean that they are drinking alcohol in order to forget something sad or upsetting that has happened to them.
drowse /draʊ z/ (drowses , drowsing , drowsed ) VERB If you drowse , you are almost asleep or just asleep. □ [V ] Nina drowsed for a while.
drowsy /draʊ zi/ (drowsier , drowsiest ) ADJ If you feel drowsy , you feel sleepy and cannot think clearly. □ He felt pleasantly drowsy and had to fight off the urge to sleep. ● drowsi|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ Big meals during the day cause drowsiness. ● drowsi|ly /draʊ z I li/ ADV [ADV with v] □ 'Mm,' she answered drowsily.