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Synonyms

drop the ball

Idioms  

  1. Make an error; miss an opportunity. For example, She really dropped the ball when she forgot to call back, or He dropped the ball, turning down their offer. This expression comes from sports where a player who fails to catch a ball is charged with an error. Its use for more general kinds of mistakes dates from about 1950.

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.

In the 56th minute they piled on, Darcy Graham almost getting over in the corner, but dropping the ball under pressure.

From BBC

"I blame all the adults in my life that literally just dropped the ball and said: 'She's here in America now, she's going to be fine.'"

From BBC

The Black Caps still needed another 93 when Luke Wood dropped the ball when a reverse sweep from Mitchell looped up to him at backward point.

From BBC

Quarterback Dominick Catalano dropped the ball, picked it up and found Plinski, who also used his lacrosse skills to make the catch.

From Los Angeles Times

"It cannot drop the ball and allow the collapse of Northern Ireland's strategic and world-class aerospace sector."

From BBC

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.