WordVale

drop off

to deliver; to fall asleep; to decrease

In Phrasal Verbs

In more detail

1. (phrasal verb) to leave someone or something at a place, usually by car

2. (phrasal verb) to decrease or become less

3. (noun) a steep slope or edge

Examples

• 1. Can you drop off my package at the post office?
• 2. Sales dropped off after the holiday season.
• 3. There's a sharp drop off at the edge of the cliff.

How to use drop off

As a phrasal verb meaning to deliver, it is commonly used in everyday contexts to describe transporting someone or something to a location and leaving them there. The second meaning (to decrease) is used figuratively in both spoken and written English to describe a gradual decline in quantity, quality, or intensity. As a noun, drop-off refers to a physical steep descent or the act of leaving something at a designated location.

Common phrases

• drop off at school
• drop off a package
• drop off a child
• drop off the kids
• quality drops off
• sales have dropped off

Synonyms

deliver · leave · deposit · unload · decline

Opposites

pick up · collect · increase

Word family

drop-off (noun) · dropped off (past tense) · dropping off (present participle)

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse the preposition in 'drop off at' versus 'drop off to'; the correct form is 'at' (drop off at school, not to school).

Nearby in Phrasal Verbs

cut down on, deal with, draw up, figure out, fill in, find out

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained