droop
Americanverb (used without object)
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droops,
present (3rd person singular)
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drooped,
past participle, past
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drooping
present participle
verb (used with object)
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droops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
drooped,
past participle, past
-
drooping
present participle
noun
verb
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to sag or allow to sag, as from weakness or exhaustion; hang down; sink
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(intr) to be overcome by weariness; languish; flag
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(intr) to lose courage; become dejected
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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droopsimple
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droopssimple
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have droopedperfect
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has droopedperfect
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am droopingprogressive
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are droopingprogressive
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is droopingprogressive
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have been droopingperfect progressive
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has been droopingperfect progressive
Past
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droopedsimple
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had droopedperfect
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was droopingprogressive
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were droopingprogressive
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had been droopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of droop
1300–50; Middle English drupen, drowpen < Old Norse drūpa; akin to drop
Explanation
To droop is to limply or loosely hang downward. Have you ever seen the long, floppy ears of a basset hound hanging down? Those ears are drooping. When things droop, they're loose and hanging down. On a day without wind, a flag will droop. If you are sad or embarrassed, your head might droop a little. Evidently, drooping your head when you’re feeling down is something people have been doing for a long time. Droop is also related to the words drop and drip.
Vocabulary lists containing droop
How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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"Face Facts: The Science of Facial Expressions" and "Silent Language"
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"Four Skinny Trees"
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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:
Its floppy feathers droop from the ceiling and stretch out across the ground, dominating the gallery after seeming to have deflated midflight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Possible symptoms include face weakness, where one side of the face might droop, arm weakness and speech problems.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
The shrub — reportedly named for leaves that can droop and coil like poodle fur — primarily grows in Southern California in chaparral between roughly 3,300 to 7,500 feet, on granitic slopes and ridges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2025
However, an increase in power supplied to the LED results in a decrease in its efficiency, a phenomenon known as efficiency droop.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
After a while, I hear his breathing grow steady and see his head droop, and I know he’s fallen asleep.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
The split between the two companies points to a so-called K-shaped economy —named that way because the upper arm rises while the lower arm droops.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
An unframed and unfurled painting by Sheila Crider, hung so that each end droops, offers the show’s exemplary title: “Shape Shifter.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2022
It droops under its own weight, a turquoise hyacinth in bloom on the first day of spring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
“Cyrano” should soar when the music begins; instead, it droops.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2022
His lip droops a little, and I realize that even though I hear his voice, words aren’t coming out of his mouth.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
The lodging business took a hit when travel activity drooped during the pandemic, while soaring operating costs and plunging occupancy rates caused hundreds of senior housing facilities to close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
She explained she was given steroid injections and left with swelling before her face dropped and remained drooped for seven months, during which time she said she hid in her house.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2024
She drew laughter when she stepped in to lift the microphone near a student’s face after it repeatedly drooped too low.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2023
She was on a United flight from Toronto to San Francisco when her now-deceased father, then in his 80s, began showing concerning symptoms: The right side of his face and arm drooped.
From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2023
Her shoulders drooped, and she seemed to fold into herself, nothing like the woman who usually strutted around the kitchen.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Mature trees that take decades to establish are drooping, and some have leaves turning brown in August in a stress reaction to excessive heat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Symmetry - AI often fails to recreate the quirks that make us human - a slightly drooping eyelid or a lop-sided smile.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Other symptoms include constipation, drooping eyelids, sluggish pupils and a weak cry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
In response, the company introduced a wind-assist kit—a pair of cables, clips and sandbags that can keep the fabric from drooping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The not-so-great news: the sagging porch and drooping roof make it pretty clear that just waltzing in and finding the right room isn’t the smartest idea.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
