mic drop

noun

plural mic drops

: the act of dramatically dropping a microphone after a performance, speech, etc. (as to indicate that what one has said or done cannot be disputed or surpassed)

At his final Correspondents' Dinner as president in 2016, Obama famously finished his speech with a mic drop.

—Stacy M. Brown

The mic drop … is meant to indicate that you have just been so funny, so show-stopping and irrefutable that the final word has been had. There is no further need of a microphone, for you or anyone else.

—Zoe Williams

Did [Eddie] Murphy and his fellow comedians borrow the mic drop from hip-hop? … In Eric B. and Rakim's classic single "I Ain't No Joke," Rakim boasts, "I used to let the mic smoke / Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke." According to Rakim, he does it so that nobody will step up and "mess up the scene."

—Forrest Wickman

also, figurative : something that is indisputable or unsurpassable : something that is worthy of a mic drop

But nothing could do this book justice so all I'm going to say is that it's the ultimate mic drop for this 21st century Shakespeare.

—Kate Farrell

But Harris delivered the real mic drop when she pointed out that she was the only candidate of color at the second night debate.

—Shelby Black

They saw fifth-year senior Ja'Shon Henry's farewell game, a mic-drop moment in which he hurled down a violent, emotional dunk that ignited the crowd with 1:23 left.

—Dave Eminian

—sometimes used interjectionally

Mic drop. We applaud these world leaders for calling out sexism when they hear it.

—Stephanie Ruhle

Examples of mic drop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There was an invaluable wealth of advice and care shared over the weekend, rounded out by the mic drop moments given to us by Law Roach, Saweetie and Sloane Stephens during the Beauty Looks Like Me panel. —Akili King, Essence, 4 Nov. 2024

Our taco vendors are our forever mic drop on this forever rivalry. —Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024

Morgan Eaves, executive director of the Kentucky Democratic Party, shared a post from the Texas Democrats' account — accusing Trump of interfering with the bipartisan border bill — with two emojis indicating a mic drop. —Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 11 Sep. 2024

That sure felt like a mic drop, but unfortunately, their bickering went on a bit longer. —Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 30 July 2024

But the biggest mic drop of the panel was the reveal that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to the MCU to play Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 27 July 2024

Cut to black, because what’s left to show us after that mic drop? —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2024

Trump had his mic drop moment, but the AG had the last word. —Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 11 Jan. 2024

Frank Lloyd Wright submitting his design for the Guggenheim at eighty-four is the ultimate mic drop. —CBS News, 6 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2007, in the meaning defined above