Synonyms

drop the ball

Idioms

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

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drop the ball

Which wideout or defensive back will literally and figuratively drop the ball?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

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

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025

“The football gods laugh at us and drop the ball in at the 1-inch line for us to go have to win the game,” coach Michael Locksley said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023

"Governments cannot drop the ball," Van Kerkhove said, adding that the coronavirus continues to circulate, evolve, infect and kill people.

From Reuters ● Aug. 24, 2023

I wasn’t going to drop the ball on any of it.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

drop the ball

Example Sentences

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