droop
Americanverb (used without object)
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droops,
present (3rd person singular)
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drooped,
past participle, past
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drooping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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droops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
drooped,
past participle, past
-
drooping
present participle
noun
verb
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to sag or allow to sag, as from weakness or exhaustion; hang down; sink
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(intr) to be overcome by weariness; languish; flag
-
(intr) to lose courage; become dejected
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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droopsimple
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droopssimple
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have droopedperfect
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has droopedperfect
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am droopingprogressive
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are droopingprogressive
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is droopingprogressive
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have been droopingperfect progressive
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has been droopingperfect progressive
Past
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droopedsimple
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had droopedperfect
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was droopingprogressive
-
were droopingprogressive
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had been droopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of droop
1300–50; Middle English drupen, drowpen < Old Norse drūpa; akin to drop
Explanation
To droop is to limply or loosely hang downward. Have you ever seen the long, floppy ears of a basset hound hanging down? Those ears are drooping. When things droop, they're loose and hanging down. On a day without wind, a flag will droop. If you are sad or embarrassed, your head might droop a little. Evidently, drooping your head when you’re feeling down is something people have been doing for a long time. Droop is also related to the words drop and drip.
Vocabulary lists containing droop
How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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"Face Facts: The Science of Facial Expressions" and "Silent Language"
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"Four Skinny Trees"
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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:
Its floppy feathers droop from the ceiling and stretch out across the ground, dominating the gallery after seeming to have deflated midflight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Saltires won't droop down hotels or poke out car windows, McGinn's name won't keep them up at night and cones will no longer land on any statues.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
The shrub — reportedly named for leaves that can droop and coil like poodle fur — primarily grows in Southern California in chaparral between roughly 3,300 to 7,500 feet, on granitic slopes and ridges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2025
In the spring, maroon flowers droop from the branches.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
Turner let his head droop as they were crossing the bridge so he saw nothing of the duty sergeant’s ferocious gaze, though he felt its heat.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The split between the two companies points to a so-called K-shaped economy —named that way because the upper arm rises while the lower arm droops.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
You can check this by stopping the mixer, detaching the whisk attachment or beater and turning it upside down: If the meringue droops down just at the top, you’re good to go.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 1, 2023
“Can you smile for me?” the paramedic asks, and notes that only the left corner of the man’s mouth curls upward when he tries; the right droops into a frown.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
“He speaks as fluently as ever, but his lower lip droops on one side. The ulnar nerve in his left hand was badly damaged.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
His face droops a bit, and I can't help but laugh.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
The lodging business took a hit when travel activity drooped during the pandemic, while soaring operating costs and plunging occupancy rates caused hundreds of senior housing facilities to close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Within days her eyelid had drooped and swelled.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
She drew laughter when she stepped in to lift the microphone near a student’s face after it repeatedly drooped too low.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2023
He stayed down several minutes before walking slowly from the field to the injury tent with his shoulder drooped.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
There was something sad and lonely in his eyes, in the way his mustache drooped over his frown.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Symmetry - AI often fails to recreate the quirks that make us human - a slightly drooping eyelid or a lop-sided smile.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The shot of the battered Big Baby, one eyelid drooping, sitting on a swing gazing at the full moon, is far more chilling than anything in the “M3GAN” movies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Those figures are a remarkable contrast to the drooping ratings for CBS’s other mainstay news programs in the morning External link and evening External link.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Another possibility is that people will use their refund money to build rainy-day funds, at a time when savings rates are drooping.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026
His head was drooping and he shook himself again.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
