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drop off

A2 neutral separable both
In simple words

Take someone somewhere in your car and leave them there; fall asleep without meaning to; or become less.

Literal meaning: To fall or be released from a surface.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To deliver a person or thing to a place by car and then drive away.

"I'll drop the kids off at school on my way to work."

Grammar: separable
2 A2 idiomatic informal

To fall asleep, especially without intending to.

"He dropped off in front of the TV and woke up at midnight."

Grammar: inseparable
3 B1 idiomatic neutral

To decrease in amount, level, or quality.

"Website traffic tends to drop off significantly during the holiday season."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

One of the most versatile and frequently used phrasal verbs. The delivery sense is extremely common. The 'falling asleep' sense is informal and very widely used. The 'decrease' sense is common in business language.

Commonly used with

kids school parcel dry cleaning sleep sales attendance

Forms

Base
drop off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
drops off
he/she/it
Past simple
droped off
yesterday
Past participle
droped off
have + pp
-ing form
droping off
continuous

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Synonyms

deliver leave fall asleep doze off decrease decline

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