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• drop-dead
  drop-dead

  adjective

  inspiring awe, astonishment, or envy.
• drop dead
  drop dead

  An expression of anger, rejection, or indignation toward someone. For example, I should do all that work for you? Drop dead! This rude imperative is usually hyperbolic, that is, the speaker is not literally asking someone to die on the spot. [c. 1930] Curiously, the adjective (and adverb) drop-dead is not at all insulting. Rather, it means “dazzling” or “awe-inspiring,” as in She wore a drop-dead outfit that all the other women admired. This usage originated in slangy journalism in the 1960s.

drop-dead

American  

[drop-ded] / ˈdrɒpˌdɛd /

adjective

1. inspiring awe, astonishment, or envy.

   a drop-dead guest list; a drop-dead sable coat.

2. being the most extreme limit or possibility.

   What's the drop-dead date for handing in term papers? That is our drop-dead offer.

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drop-dead British  

adverb

1. informal outstandingly or exceptionally

   drop-dead gorgeous

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drop dead Idioms  

1. An expression of anger, rejection, or indignation toward someone. For example, I should do all that work for you? Drop dead! This rude imperative is usually hyperbolic, that is, the speaker is not literally asking someone to die on the spot. [c. 1930] Curiously, the adjective (and adverb) drop-dead is not at all insulting. Rather, it means “dazzling” or “awe-inspiring,” as in She wore a drop-dead outfit that all the other women admired. This usage originated in slangy journalism in the 1960s.

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Etymology

Origin of drop-dead

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drop-dead drop dead

When can I get my hands on the Genesis G90 Wingback, a drop-dead gorgeous performance wagon unveiled in concept form last December?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

He was as militant a union man as I ever met, and I have met a few in my day, and moreover, he was drop-dead brilliant.

From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2024

LaRose told him next Wednesday is the drop-dead deadline.

From Seattle Times ● May 23, 2024

For putting together a ticket, Mr. Davis said, “April 15 is kind of their drop-dead date.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2024

This chapter is dedicated to Secret Headquarters in Los Angeles, my drop-dead all-time favorite comic store in the world.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory

"Sometimes we'll get called the last piano manufacturer which sounds a bit sad, like you're the last Siberian tiger and it's only a matter of time until you drop dead," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2025

“That’s what I’m working towards, and if I drop dead at the end of it, I’ll die a happy man.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2025

If Elon Musk were to drop dead tomorrow, the damage to Tesla’s share price would be unfathomable, because companies and also dumb crypto tokens get much more valuable when Musk breathes on them.

From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2024

Physicians identified this phenomenon in the aftermath of World War II, when they observed skeletal concentration-camp survivors and longtime prisoners of war eat high-caloric foods and then drop dead of cardiac failure.

From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2024

“I’m old, you know. Could drop dead any minute. We’ve got to get going!”

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline