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droop

[droop]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to sag, sink, bend, or hang down, as from weakness, exhaustion, or lack of support.
  2. to fall into a state of physical weakness; flag; fail.
  3. to lose spirit or courage.
  4. to descend, as the sun; sink.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to let sink or drop: an eagle drooping its wings.
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noun
  1. a sagging, sinking, bending, or hanging down, as from weakness, exhaustion, or lack of support.
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Origin of droop

1300–50; Middle English drupen, drowpen < Old Norse drūpa; akin to drop
Related formsdroop·ing·ly, adverbre·droop, verb (used without object)un·droop·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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1. flag, languish. 2. weaken, decline, faint, wilt, wither, fade.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for droop

Historical Examples

  • But the tempter came, and from that time she began to droop.

    Punchinello, Vol. 1. No. 20, August 13, 1870

    Various

  • It is a toss of the head and a droop of the eyes if I say one word of what is in my mind.

    The White Company

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • The more intense his thinking, the slacker was the droop of his lower jaw.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • As soon as Freya was gone, the flowers began to droop their heads.

  • There was a droop to Evadna's shoulders, and a tremble to her mouth.

    Good Indian

    B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for droop

droop

verb
  1. to sag or allow to sag, as from weakness or exhaustion; hang down; sink
  2. (intr) to be overcome by weariness; languish; flag
  3. (intr) to lose courage; become dejected
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noun
  1. the act or state of drooping
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Derived Formsdrooping, adjectivedroopingly, adverb

Word Origin

C13: from Old Norse drūpa; see drop
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for droop

v.

early 13c., from Old Norse drupa "to drop, sink, hang (the head)," from Proto-Germanic *drup-, from PIE *dhreu-, related to Old English dropian "to drop" (see drip). Related: Drooped; drooping. As a noun, from 1640s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper