drop-dead

drop dead

1. verb To die suddenly. Brett always seemed so healthy—I'm shocked that he dropped dead at age 55. A: "People don't just drop dead for no reason." B: "What are you suggesting? Foul play?" Wow, I still can't believe that one of my classmates dropped dead from a seizure over winter break.

2. rude slang An expression of dismissal and contempt for someone. I'm not cleaning up your mess! Drop dead! Drop dead, Warren. No one cares. A: "Nice haircut, loser." B: "Drop dead already, will ya?"

3. adjective Spectacularly or sensationally striking, impressive, or awe-inspiring. Used before a noun. In this usage, if is often hyphenated. To flaunt his success, he always shows up in a flashy car with a drop-dead beauty in the passenger seat. She strode into the room wearing a drop-dead dress that made every head turn. My, that is some drop-dead engagement ring! Absolutely stunning!

4. adjective Rudely dismissive or disdainful. Used before a noun. In this usage, if is often hyphenated. The politician eventually tempered his drop-dead attitude, indicating that he was willing to work with the groups that had been protesting his proposed legislation. Nobody wants a doctor who responds to their questions with drop-dead callousness. I'm not surprised his kids don't tell him anything, given the drop-dead way he's always interacted with them.

5. adverb Sensationally; spectacularly; outstandingly. Used before an adjective. In this usage, if is often hyphenated. He was kind of a pudgy, dorky looking kid in high school, but I just saw him at the reunion and he is drop-dead gorgeous now! Do not buy this house—it's drop-dead hideous, with structural issues to boot! I don't think Alex is that handsome, but somehow every girl he dates is just drop-dead gorgeous.

See also: dead, drop

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

drop-dead

COMMON You can use drop-dead to emphasize that someone or something is very attractive or beautiful. She's drop-dead gorgeous. The club was packed with drop-dead models.

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

drop-dead

1. mod. stunning enough to make one drop dead. (Not literal.) I had my living room done in a bright drop-dead red that makes your blood run cold!

2. mod. rude, as if telling someone to drop dead. I couldn’t stand the boss’s drop-dead attitude, so I quit.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.