flop

1 of 4

verb

flopped; flopping

intransitive verb

1
: to swing or move loosely : flap
2
: to throw or move oneself in a heavy, clumsy, or relaxed manner
flopped into the chair
3
: to change or turn suddenly
4
: to go to bed
a place to flop at night
5
: to fail completely
the play flopped

transitive verb

: to move or drop heavily or noisily : cause to flop
flopped the bundles down
flopper noun

flop

2 of 4

adverb

: right, squarely
fell flop on my face

flop

3 of 4

noun (1)

1
: an act or sound of flopping
2
: a complete failure
the movie was a flop
3
slang : a place to sleep
especially : flophouse
4
: dung
cow flop
also : a piece of dung

flop

4 of 4

noun (2)

plural flops
: a unit of measure for calculating the speed of a computer equal to one floating-point operation per second
Supplied by IBM, with a billion flops (floating point operations per second) and a capacity to expand to 60 billion flops with the addition of other processors and memory, it will be among the 10 most sophisticated computers in the world.Eleanor Wilson
usually used in combination
gigaflop
A GPU [=graphics processing unit] can deliver hundreds of billions of operations per second—some GPUs more than a teraflop, or a trillion operations per second—while requiring only slightly more electrical power and cooling than a CPU.Andrea Di Blas et al.

Examples of flop in a Sentence

Verb He flopped down onto the bed. She flopped into the chair with a sigh. All of their attempts have flopped miserably. The curtains were flopping around in the breeze. Noun (1) The movie was a total flop. It fell to the ground with a flop.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Yet while shows like The Boys and Reacher have enjoyed success, its lavishly expensive tentpole J.R.R. Tolkien epic The Rings of Power flopped. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024 This week, Sweeney also chatted with the Los Angeles Times about Sony’s comic book movie Madame Web, which received brutal reviews from critics and flopped at the box office. Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 Sinema spent months playing a leading role in trying to negotiate a bipartisan border security bill that immediately flopped when former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to oppose legislation that would give President Joe Biden an election year achievement. Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 1 Mar. 2024 On this blustery morning, Jojo wears a hooded jacket topped with a redundant pair of ears that flop, to comedic effect, over his own. Michelle Madden, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2024 With the property sold and set to be razed later this year, and after a deal for a new location with a neighboring township flopped, the owners are scrambling to find a new spot. Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Feb. 2024 The musical is based on a 1980 movie starring Newton-John that flopped at the box office; writer Douglas Carter Beane reconfigured the story to create this stage romp. Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2024 The actress detailed her feelings about the Sony-Marvel film flopping at the box office and getting bashed by critics and fans as one of the worst modern superhero films ever made. James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024 In early February, a bipartisan agreement in the Senate that would have restricted asylum at the border in exchange for providing military aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies flopped when Republicans, led by Trump, scorched the deal. Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Broadway has always had more flops than successes, and the post-pandemic period has been challenging for producers and investors, especially those involved in new musicals. New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Clarks Breeze Sea Flip Flop $31 What swimsuit is complete without flip flops? Bianca Lambert, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2024 Should Kraven the Hunter deliver another flop as appears likely, or even disappointingly low but not disastrous result — say perhaps $400 million, on par with a higher-performing DCEU release from the last five years — then Sony will be forced to rethink their plans. Mark Hughes, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Your dedicated butler and a concierge from Le Barth Villa Rental greet you at the Aqua Villa with Champagne from the owners’ vineyard, Leclerc Briant, as well as pastries, charcuterie, French cheese, and a welcome package (beach and swimsuit bags, hats, flip flops, reusable water bottles, etc). Nicolas Stecher, Robb Report, 16 Feb. 2024 With remote work more mainstream than ever, laptops and flip flops are sharing suitcase space. The Indianapolis Star, 8 Feb. 2024 Only in the Hamptons can an $89 million residential real estate deal be considered something of a flop. Jacob Bernstein, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 But the evidence suggests that the flop is on Nike more than anyone else. Amanda Mull, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2024 The 1997 oddity by Bill Russell and Henry Krieger has proved a two-time Broadway flop, but this duet is a soaring tribute to the kind of love that can withstand any strength test. Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

alteration of flap entry 2

Noun (2)

floating-point operation

First Known Use

Verb

1602, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Adverb

1728, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1976, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of flop was in 1602

Dictionary Entries Near flop

Cite this Entry

“Flop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flop. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

flop

1 of 2 verb
flopped; flopping
1
: to swing or bounce loosely : flap about
a hat brim flopping
2
a
: to throw oneself down in a heavy, clumsy, or relaxed manner
flopped into the chair
b
: to throw or drop suddenly and heavily or noisily
flopped the bundles down with a thud
3
: to fail completely
the play flopped

flop

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act or sound of flopping
2
: a complete failure : dud

More from Merriam-Webster on flop

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