to drop off

Meanings

1. 1phrasetransitive

   To take someone or something to a place and leave them there, usually in a car.

   Grammar: Takes an object; with a pronoun the object goes in the middle: drop her off, not drop off her.

   Patterns

   • drop someone off
   • drop something off
   • drop someone off at a place

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

   I'll drop the kids off at school and then come back.

   She dropped off the package at the front desk.

2. 2phraseintransitiveinformal

   To fall asleep, especially without intending to.

   Grammar: No object; it often suggests a light or accidental sleep.

   Patterns

   • drop off
   • drop off to sleep

   I dropped off on the sofa while watching the film.

   He was so tired that he dropped off during the meeting.

3. 3phraseintransitive

   To become less in amount, level, or number.

   Grammar: No object; used about sales, prices, numbers, or interest.

   Patterns

   • drop off
   • sales drop off

   Sales usually drop off after the holidays.

   Attendance dropped off sharply in the final week.

4. 4phrasetransitive

   To deliver something to a place, especially something you have brought from somewhere else.

   Grammar: Takes an object; often used for letters, parcels, or laundry.

   Patterns

   • drop something off
   • drop something off at a place

   Could you drop this letter off at the post office?

   I need to drop my suit off at the cleaner's.

Common combinations

drop someone off at the airport

My brother dropped us off at the airport at dawn.

drop off to sleep

The baby finally dropped off to sleep at nine.

drop off a parcel

I'll drop off the parcel on my way home.

sales drop off

Online sales drop off once the summer starts.

drop off the radar

After college he seemed to drop off the radar for a few years.

Synonyms and how they differ

deliver

More formal and neutral; it focuses on handing something over, not on the journey in a car.

doze off

Very close for the sleep sense, but doze off suggests a short light sleep anywhere, not necessarily accidental.

decline

A more formal word for the 'become less' sense, common in reports about numbers.

Opposites

Word family

drop-off noun

A place where you leave someone or something, or a fall in numbers.

dropout noun

Someone who leaves school or a course before finishing.

Commonly confused: to drop off or drop out?

Practice

Make it your own

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

Explore more words