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
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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
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(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
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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
"There is a limit to how much droop you can allow," says Simon Hogg, a consultant and professor emeritus at Durham University.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
However, an increase in power supplied to the LED results in a decrease in its efficiency, a phenomenon known as efficiency droop.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
In the spring, maroon flowers droop from the branches.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
Without Camilla she would droop and lose interest.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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
Okay, the dry-fried cauliflower droops by the time its lid is removed at home, but the seasoning is the blast furnace fans expect.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022
This is an opera that blasts and scrapes, flickers and droops, with growling aggression giving way to delicate twinkling.
From New York Times ● May 15, 2022
It droops under its own weight, a turquoise hyacinth in bloom on the first day of spring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
Maybe she’s has a scar, or one eyelid droops, or her nose is a mottled purple.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Mark's speech started to go, and one side of his face drooped - classic stroke symptoms.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
Jackie, who turns 13 this spring, puffed up her feathers, drooped her wings, bore down and released her latest egg, according to the group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2025
She was on a United flight from Toronto to San Francisco when her now-deceased father, then in his 80s, began showing concerning symptoms: The right side of his face and arm drooped.
From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2023
Hicks drooped his head for a few seconds, thinking he caught the ball and the drive was foul, and two runs scored before he reacted and picked up the ball.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
But her skin had drooped, so it hung down in a grouchy look, and sometimes it was hard to see the smile underneath.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
Other symptoms include constipation, drooping eyelids, sluggish pupils and a weak cry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 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
According to the exhibition catalog, “Aso Oke” was inspired by the handwoven openwork fabric of Nigeria’s Yoruba people, as well as the drooping fila gobi ceremonial cap worn by Yoruba men.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
While Nadia fluffs up her drooping hair in our bathroom, I go to my room.
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
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.
