flop
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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flops,
present (3rd person singular)
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flopped,
past participle, past
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flopping
present participle
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to fall or plump down suddenly, especially with noise; drop or turn with a sudden bump or thud (sometimes followed bydown ).
The puppy flopped down on the couch.
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to change suddenly, as from one side or party to another (often followed byover ).
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to be a complete failure; fail.
The play flopped dismally.
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Informal. to sleep or be lodged.
to flop at a friend's house.
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to swing loosely; bounce; flap.
His long hair flops in his eyes when he runs.
verb (used with object)
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flops,
present (3rd person singular)
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flopped,
past participle, past
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flopping
present participle
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to drop with a sudden bump or thud.
He flopped his books on a chair.
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to dispose (oneself ) in a heavily negligent manner.
to flop oneself in a chair.
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to invert (the negative of a photograph) so that the right and left sides are transposed.
noun
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an act of flopping.
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the sound of flopping; a thud.
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a failure.
The new comedy was a flop.
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Informal. a place to sleep; temporary lodging.
The mission offered a flop and a free breakfast.
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Basketball. an exaggerated or dramatic fall intended to persuade officials to penalize the opposing team for a foul.
His comically oversold flop didn’t fool the referees at all.
noun
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flops
plural
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Computers. flops.
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Mathematics. a single mathematical operation involving floating-point numbers.
verb
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(intr) to bend, fall, or collapse loosely or carelessly
his head flopped backwards
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to fall, cause to fall, or move with a sudden noise
the books flopped onto the floor
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informal (intr) to fail; be unsuccessful
the scheme flopped
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(intr) to fall flat onto the surface of water, hitting it with the front of the body
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slang to go to sleep
noun
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the act of flopping
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informal a complete failure
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slang a place to sleep
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athletics See Fosbury flop
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poker the first three community cards dealt face-up in a round of any of several varieties of poker, including Texas hold 'em
Usage
What does flop mean? To flop is to plump down or fall suddenly, often making a noise, as in After the long hike, Sasha flopped on the grass to rest. To flop can also mean to drop something with a sudden bump, as in Dola flopped her books to the floor to make room on the desk. To flop also means to fail completely, as in The new play flopped because the actors didn’t know their lines and no one came after opening night. Flop can be used as a noun to refer to any of these actions, as well. Example: I flopped on the couch after a long day of work.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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flopsimple
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flopssimple
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have floppedperfect
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has floppedperfect
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am floppingprogressive
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are floppingprogressive
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is floppingprogressive
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have been floppingperfect progressive
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has been floppingperfect progressive
Past
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floppedsimple
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had floppedperfect
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was floppingprogressive
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were floppingprogressive
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had been floppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flop
First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of flap; flop def. 11 was first recorded in 1890–95.
Explanation
To flop is to drop or hang heavily and loosely. If you're exhausted at the end of the day, you might flop into a chair as soon as you walk into your house. Your long hair might flop into your eyes, and if you catch a fish, you'll have to watch it flop around in your boat before it stops breathing. A tired child might begin to sob and flop onto the floor in frustration. You can also call a disaster a flop: "We worked so hard on that play, but it turned out to be a total flop." The earliest meaning of flop was "to flap."
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:
For one, it was a blast of cold coffee to the face to realize that what qualifies as a career-derailing flop in 2006 meets or beats the quality of most made-for-Netflix features.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Unfortunately, that has also been undermined by a massive flop of a debut that doesn’t appear like it will go anywhere—in spite of the media tour that preceded it.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
For someone who never held political office — a 1999 bid for San Francisco mayor was a notable flop — Reilly wielded considerable influence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
At lunch dockside in Boynton Beach, I see the flop of a manatee’s huge tail as it disappears below the surface.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
One night, I opened the door, hoping to flop on the bed for a few moments of silence, only to find our room strewn with kitchen utensils.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
When he returned home, shortly after 04:00 BST, the flip flops he was wearing were missing, he no longer had his headphones and a belt on his shorts was hanging loose.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Dyson pushed for the 1985 recipe change that led to New Coke, which became one of the biggest flops in marketing history before the company recovered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Because you can bank on the fact that, in L.A., people won’t turn up or tune in for flops and failure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Sony has also made Spider-Man villain spinoffs including the hit “Venom” trilogy and flops like “Madame Web” and “Kraven the Hunter.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
But the leg flops down like the legs of my old rag doll from Cuba.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
The bookish thriller "Verity" cleaned up in its North American box office debut this weekend while Tom Cruise flopped in "Digger" playing a rich old guy who thinks he can save the world.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Slow down your shopping habits: Shein debuted on the Hong Kong stock market earlier this month—and it flopped.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
In this year’s mayoral primary, Raman raised less money than Bass and Pratt and flopped during their one debate against each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
But not long after, its Hero4 Session camera flopped, as shoppers balked at the price.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
The hare’s ears flopped comically as he shook his head.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
That’s not to say all is flopping now for Zaslav and team: “Wuthering Heights” and Evil Dead Burn did pretty well, and the upcoming Dune: Part Three is already wreaking box-office havoc.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
I suggest trying out some flopping in your daily life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Add environmental, social and governance grievances to a long list of fantasy flopping isms—remember speciesism?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Dick Fosbury flopping over the bar in the high jump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
The first one I saw fell from a branch and crawled across my bare arm before flopping off and disappearing into the rotten palm leaves.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
