drop off

Meanings

1. 1verbphrasal verb

   To become gradually lower in amount, number or strength.

   Grammar: No object: sales dropped off after the holiday.

   Patterns

   • something drops off
   • sales drop off

   Attendance usually drops off after the first few weeks of the course.

   Demand for umbrellas drops off once the rainy season ends.

   The signal drops off as you drive into the valley.

2. 2verbphrasal verbinformal

   To fall asleep, often without meaning to.

   Grammar: No object; informal and usually after a long time awake: I dropped off in front of the TV.

   Patterns

   • drop off in front of something

   I dropped off on the sofa halfway through the film.

   The baby finally dropped off around midnight.

   He kept dropping off during the long lecture.

3. 3verbphrasal verb

   To take someone or something to a place and leave them there, usually on the way to somewhere else.

   Grammar: Takes an object, which can go before or after off: drop the kids off or drop off the kids.

   Patterns

   • drop someone off at somewhere
   • drop something off at somewhere

   Can you drop me off at the station on your way to work?

   I will drop off the parcel at the post office this afternoon.

   She dropped the children off at school before nine.

Word forms

Common combinations

drop off sharply

Interest in the product dropped off sharply after the launch.

drop off a package

I need to drop off a package on the way home.

drop off at school

He drops his daughter off at school every morning.

drop off to sleep

I dropped off to sleep within minutes.

drop off the radar

The band dropped off the radar for several years.

Synonyms and how they differ

decline

Decline is more formal and suits long-term trends, whereas drop off is informal and suggests a gradual fall.

doze off

Doze off means to fall into a light, short sleep, while drop off can describe falling asleep at night as well.

deliver

Deliver is the formal term for bringing something to a place, while drop off adds that you leave it quickly and casually.

decrease

Decrease is a neutral, formal word for becoming smaller, whereas drop off sounds spoken and implies a steady reduction.

Opposites

Word family

drop-off noun

a sharp decrease, or a place where things are left, as in a drop-off point

drop verb

to fall or let fall

dropout noun

a person who leaves school or a course early

dropper noun

a small tube for releasing liquid in drops

Commonly confused: drop off or drop out?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “drop off”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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