drop
n. countablen. a very small, round amount of liquid, like a drop of rain or a tear. It can also mean a decrease or fall in something, like a drop in price.
n. a small, typically spherical mass of liquid. By extension, it also refers to a sudden decrease in quantity, value, or intensity.
A single drop of rain hits the window.
There was a sharp drop in temperature overnight, so we turned on the heat.
The latest data revealed a significant drop in consumer confidence, prompting economists to revise their forecasts for the upcoming quarter.
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *dropōn Old English dropian Middle English droppen Proto-Indo-European *dʰrbʰ-néh₂- Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- Proto-Germanic *dreupaną Proto-Germanic *druppōną Proto-Germanic *drupô Proto-West Germanic *dropō Old English dropa ▲ Middle English droppen Middle English drope ▲ Middle English droppen Middle English droppe English drop From Late Middle English droppe, Middle English drope (“small quantity of liquid; small or least amount of something; pendant jewel; dripping of a liquid; a shower; nasal flow, catarrh; speck, spot; blemish; disease causing spots on the skin”) [and other forms], from Old English dropa (“a drop”), from Proto-West Germanic dropō (“drop (of liquid)”), from Proto-Germanic drupô (“drop (of liquid)”),, from dreupaną (“to drip, droop”), from Proto-Indo-European dʰrebʰ- (“to drip, drop”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Droupe, Druppe (“drop”), Dutch drop, drup (“droplet”), German Tropfen (“drop”), German Low German Drüpp (“drop”), Luxembourgish Drëps (“drop”), Vilamovian tropa, troppa (“drop”), Yiddish טראָפּן (tropn, “drop”), Danish dråbe (“drop”), Faroese and Icelandic dropi (“drop”), Norwegian Bokmål dråpe (“drop”), Norwegian Nynorsk drope, dråpå (“drop”), Swedish droppe (“drop”).
Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *dropōn Old English dropian Middle English droppen Proto-Indo-European *dʰrbʰ-néh₂- Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- Proto-Germanic *dreupaną Proto-Germanic *druppōną Proto-Germanic *drupô Proto-West Germanic *dropō Old English dropa ▲ Middle English droppen Middle English drope ▲ Middle English droppen Middle English droppe English drop From Middle English droppen, dropen (“to fall in drops, drip or trickle down; to scatter, sprinkle; to be covered with a liquid; to give off moisture; of an object: to drop, fall; of a living being: to fall to the ground”) [and other forms], from Old English droppian, dropian (“to drop”), from Proto-West Germanic dropōn, from Proto-Germanic drupōną (“to fall in drops, drip”), ultimately from dreupaną (“to hang, droop; drop, drip”), from Proto-Indo-European dʰrebʰ- (“to drip, drop”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian drippe (“to drip”), Dutch druipen (“to drip”), German triefen (“to drip”), Yiddish טריפֿן (trifn, “to drip”), Icelandic drjúpa (“to drip”), Norwegian Nynorsk drjupa, drypa, drype (“to drip”), Swedish drypa (“to drip”).
Often used in the pattern 'a drop of' for liquids or 'a drop in' to signify a decrease.
a drop of the pricea drop in the priceWhen 'drop' means a decrease, it takes the preposition 'in', not 'of'. The preposition 'of' is used for liquids (e.g., a drop of water).