name-drop
Americanverb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of name-drop
First recorded in 1950–55
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.
One of her dogs is named Crüe, as in Mötley Crüe; she will name-drop the 2000s rock band Nickelback in one interview and country stalwart Ronnie Milsap in the next.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
Throughout, the characters routinely name-drop philosophers and authors they've obviously never read while indulging bizarre fantasies of living forever and ruling the universe as benevolent dictators.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2025
Of course, being a journalist, Avlon couldn’t help but name-drop other journalists he’d been reading.
From Slate • Nov. 1, 2024
This special is a more modest effort, and her personal anecdotes can’t help but name-drop now that she’s better known.
From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2024
That’s the career advice a friend — a celebrity whom he doesn’t want to name-drop — gave him over dinner back in 1978.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2024
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.
