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.
See Examples For:
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
As she buzzes through their home, Bertha and her decorator blithely name-drop the provenance of chandeliers, rugs and paintings.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025
Of course, being a journalist, Avlon couldn’t help but name-drop other journalists he’d been reading.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2024
“I would overshare — might name-drop first and last: ‘So this song is about…’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
Thomas’s high school coach, Gene Pingatore, is still basking in that glory and is happy to name-drop “Isiah.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
The musician subsequently name-dropped both Polymarket and Coplan in his album “Iceman.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Xi reportedly name-dropped his friend Putin to Trump last week, when the two leaders walked through Zhongnanhai, which is normally off-limits to foreign visitors, joking about how Putin had visited Beijing's political sanctuary before.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
A fan of Drake, like many other perpetually online teenage boys at the time, Nathan found The Weeknd in 2011 when the rapper dropped a freestyle and name-dropped him.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2025
And as the city has grown to assume a prominent place in American pop culture, it has given global renown to this local phenomenon, name-dropped by Raymond Chandler, Nancy Meyers and the Beach Boys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2024
As the Greyhounds’ crop of first-years filed in for their own camp weeks earlier, Kartye was name-dropped — now with NHL approval.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
The name-dropping is relentless and if, like me, you have an insatiable appetite for hoovering them up, this volume will not disappoint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
A few years ago Tianna, who is black, also began noticing men name-dropping black feminists they had read during conversation.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
I found the clinging to celebrity and the name-dropping uncomfortable and I found myself embarrassed for my father, which is a terrible feeling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2024
The name-dropping may well continue when cross-examination continues Friday.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
I can’t mention anything about this town without Ella name-dropping someone she knows.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
