flop
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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flops,
present (3rd person singular)
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flopped,
past participle, past
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flopping
present participle
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to fall or plump down suddenly, especially with noise; drop or turn with a sudden bump or thud (sometimes followed bydown ).
The puppy flopped down on the couch.
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to change suddenly, as from one side or party to another (often followed byover ).
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to be a complete failure; fail.
The play flopped dismally.
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Informal. to sleep or be lodged.
to flop at a friend's house.
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to swing loosely; bounce; flap.
His long hair flops in his eyes when he runs.
verb (used with object)
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flops,
present (3rd person singular)
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flopped,
past participle, past
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flopping
present participle
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to drop with a sudden bump or thud.
He flopped his books on a chair.
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to dispose (oneself ) in a heavily negligent manner.
to flop oneself in a chair.
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to invert (the negative of a photograph) so that the right and left sides are transposed.
noun
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an act of flopping.
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the sound of flopping; a thud.
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a failure.
The new comedy was a flop.
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Informal. a place to sleep; temporary lodging.
The mission offered a flop and a free breakfast.
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Basketball. an exaggerated or dramatic fall intended to persuade officials to penalize the opposing team for a foul.
His comically oversold flop didn’t fool the referees at all.
noun
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flops
plural
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Computers. flops.
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Mathematics. a single mathematical operation involving floating-point numbers.
verb
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(intr) to bend, fall, or collapse loosely or carelessly
his head flopped backwards
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to fall, cause to fall, or move with a sudden noise
the books flopped onto the floor
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informal (intr) to fail; be unsuccessful
the scheme flopped
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(intr) to fall flat onto the surface of water, hitting it with the front of the body
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slang to go to sleep
noun
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the act of flopping
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informal a complete failure
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slang a place to sleep
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athletics See Fosbury flop
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poker the first three community cards dealt face-up in a round of any of several varieties of poker, including Texas hold 'em
Usage
What does flop mean? To flop is to plump down or fall suddenly, often making a noise, as in After the long hike, Sasha flopped on the grass to rest. To flop can also mean to drop something with a sudden bump, as in Dola flopped her books to the floor to make room on the desk. To flop also means to fail completely, as in The new play flopped because the actors didn’t know their lines and no one came after opening night. Flop can be used as a noun to refer to any of these actions, as well. Example: I flopped on the couch after a long day of work.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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flopsimple
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flopssimple
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have floppedperfect
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has floppedperfect
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am floppingprogressive
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are floppingprogressive
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is floppingprogressive
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have been floppingperfect progressive
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has been floppingperfect progressive
Past
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floppedsimple
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had floppedperfect
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was floppingprogressive
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were floppingprogressive
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had been floppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flop
First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of flap; flop def. 11 was first recorded in 1890–95.
Explanation
To flop is to drop or hang heavily and loosely. If you're exhausted at the end of the day, you might flop into a chair as soon as you walk into your house. Your long hair might flop into your eyes, and if you catch a fish, you'll have to watch it flop around in your boat before it stops breathing. A tired child might begin to sob and flop onto the floor in frustration. You can also call a disaster a flop: "We worked so hard on that play, but it turned out to be a total flop." The earliest meaning of flop was "to flap."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For someone who never held political office — a 1999 bid for San Francisco mayor was a notable flop — Reilly wielded considerable influence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
The movie was a box-office flop, and critics have been debating its merits ever since.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Ostensibly, Vance’s appearance was part of a promotional tour for his new memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” which, as Amanda Marcotte explains for Salon, is already a flop.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
If those IPOs flop, it would have huge consequences throughout the stock market as investors re-evaluate the future of the AI trend.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
We fly down the hill, and I flop onto the moss, not caring that the damp of it will soak through my new dress.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Sony has also made Spider-Man villain spinoffs including the hit “Venom” trilogy and flops like “Madame Web” and “Kraven the Hunter.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
One asylum seeker sprinted into the courthouse, hours after her early morning hearing appointment in early June, her flip flops barely holding together as she frantically ran up and down the hallway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: Upgrade your warm-weather footwear with these stylist-approved flip flops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Perhaps the next couple of months could be spent courting record labels and songwriters, instead of leaning on Thomas Stengaard, the Danish musician who co-wrote our last two flops.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
In flip- flops, he pads to the door every fifteen minutes or so and summons someone for a return call.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Getting bangs was a local rite of passage; even if they flopped, I’d be setting out on the same Hero’s Journey as most of my new neighborhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
After a long winning run in 2025, England flopped in the Six Nations earlier this year, winning just one match, but recovered to win two out of their three Nations Championship games in July.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Snap, which unveiled more powerful $2,195 augmented reality glasses this year, sold glasses that record video in bright yellow vending machines in 2016, but the product flopped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Except, of course, keeping a massive outdoor pool pristine and leak-free is complicated, and Trump’s renovation flopped: The algae came back, joined by pieces of the pool’s new lining floating in the water.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
He limped over to his bed and flopped down on it, burying his head in his pillow.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
War is filled with flopping, feints and trickery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Dick Fosbury flopping over the bar in the high jump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
Both teams … the Heat and the Wizards … conspired with their flopping and intentional fouling to get him to 83.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026
If you lift a square from the center of the pan, it should hold itself together with quiet dignity — no flopping, no folding, nothing that resembles a dachshund being scooped up stomach-first.
From Salon ● Mar. 5, 2026
The beagle comes barreling toward me, legs going lickety-split, long ears flopping, tail sticking up like a flagpole.
From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
