drop-off

1 of 2

noun

ˈdräp-ˌȯf 

1

: a very steep or perpendicular descent

2

: a marked dwindling or decline

a drop-off in attendance

3

: the act or an instance of making a usually brief deposit or delivery

drop-off points along the route

drop off

2 of 2

verb

ˌdräp-ˈȯf 

dropped off; dropping off; drops off

intransitive verb

: to fall asleep

Synonyms

Noun

• abatement
• decline
• decrease
• decrement
• dent
• depletion
• depression
• diminishment
• diminution
• drop
• fall
• falloff
• loss
• reduction
• shrinkage
• step-down

Examples of drop-off in a Sentence

Noun

the drop-off in movie attendance was the greatest in more than a decade

Verb

my interest in photography has dropped off over the years

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The report recommends a hard perimeter setup that would only allow emergency vehicles, deliveries and hotel drop-offs at certain times. —Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025

The Cowboys desperately need another playmaker on the pass-catching side of things as there was a major drop-off in production in 2024 in terms of receiving yards. —Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025

Verb

Newcastle and Manchester United now appear to have dropped off that list as a realistic destination — with Chelsea emerging as another major player. —Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025

Abrego-Garcia had been an alternate on the flight but moved up on the list as others were dropped off. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1923, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1812, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for drop-off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff