drop off — fall asleep
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+informalcommon
To fall asleep, especially without meaning to.
Say it like a native
Textbook I unintentionally fell asleep during the film.
Native I dropped off halfway through the film.
'Drop off' is the cosy, everyday way to say you nodded off; 'unintentionally fell asleep' is a sleep-study note.
Pattern: drop off (no object)
In use
- I was so tired that I dropped off in front of the TV last night.daily life
- Sometimes, after a long day at university, I drop off as soon as I sit on the sofa.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I was so tired I dropped off myself.
✓ I was so tired I just dropped off.
'Drop off' (fall asleep) is intransitive — no object or reflexive.
Common collocations
drop off (asleep)— in front of the TV, for a bit, during, again
Don't confuse it
Not to be confused with 'nod off', which has a similar meaning but is even more informal.
Related
- drop off (take and leave) — Another meaning of 'drop off' is 'take and leave'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.