plop
Americanverb (used without object)
-
plops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
plopped,
past participle, past
-
plopping
present participle
-
to make a sound like that of something falling or dropping into water.
A frog plopped into the pond.
-
to fall with such a sound.
Big raindrops plopped against the window.
-
to drop or fall with full force or direct impact.
He plopped into a chair.
verb (used with object)
-
plops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
plopped,
past participle, past
-
plopping
present participle
-
to drop or set down heavily.
She plopped her books on the desk.
-
to cause to plop.
The fisherman plopped the bait into the river.
noun
-
plops
plural
-
a plopping sound or fall.
-
the act of plopping.
adverb
noun
verb
interjection
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
plopsimple
-
plopssimple
-
have ploppedperfect
-
has ploppedperfect
-
am ploppingprogressive
-
are ploppingprogressive
-
is ploppingprogressive
-
have been ploppingperfect progressive
-
has been ploppingperfect progressive
Past
-
ploppedsimple
-
had ploppedperfect
-
was ploppingprogressive
-
were ploppingprogressive
-
had been ploppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of plop
First recorded in 1815–25; imitative
Explanation
To plop is to drop something (or yourself) with a short sound. The sound itself is also a plop — like something landing in water without much of a splash. The sound of a plop is abrupt and hollow — you could also call it a plunk or a or a plonk. You might plop an ice cube in your glass of water, or watch a flock of bird plop themselves on the surface of a pond. Plop is imitative or onomatopoeic (it sounds like its meaning), and it first appeared in the 1820s after the brief popularity of the alternative word plap.
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:
"He started coming to some of our gigs, and would plop itself on to one of our seats."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Chandor isn’t sure what she’d do if Chonkers tried to plop down somewhere else.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Were you hoping to wade into the blooms, perhaps plop down in your summer shorts and snap a photo for social?
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
They plop down in most of their destinations accidentally, since Widgit, the map’s keeper, is an inept navigator.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2024
You can’t just plop an RV down anywhere and stay.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
If, say, a housing development plops down where you live, you are forced to wander.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
Joy plops down a chicken sandwich food truck, with plans to add a brick-and-mortar restaurant at the corner of 11th Avenue and East Pine Street in the fall.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
Brosnahan: There’s a direction that says “Midge plops on the couch.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2023
He works in a nondescript cubicle in a huge office, and barely gets through one tray of electronic files before a droid plops another on his desk.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2023
Nora plops back down on her beanbag chair, holding a piece of paper and markers.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
In the morning, as we ate vegan doughnuts and watched cat cartoons, kitten Asher plopped onto my lap and purred loudly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
In Santa Monica, when our Waymo showed up, my wife got in the back while I plopped into the front passenger seat—the better to play with the cabin controls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
When it looked like my knuckles would punch holes in it, I plopped it down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
“I liked the character so much. I was like, ‘Can I just steal her?’ and I just plopped her into ‘KPop.’
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2025
He plopped his front paws up on the desk and stuck his nose against the cage door, near the lock.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
You can pace around the living room when you’re watching TV instead of plopping down on the couch.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
For solo travelers or couples, that means plopping down next to strangers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
By plopping modern medicine on the exam table, O’Sullivan offers a thought-provoking challenge to our common assumptions about the importance of early and accurate diagnosis.
From Salon ● May 13, 2025
Like many of us, I have struggled with anxiety or depression, and am prone to plopping in bed when feeling overwhelmed or unable to focus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2024
“Queen Mother Ama Eghan!” the man exclaims, before plopping down in the head chair.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
