What does "flop" mean?
A heavy, passive fall; a plopping down.
Flop
/flɒp/ adv, intj, noun, verb, slang
adv, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A heavy, passive fall; a plopping down.
- Grammar: flop is listed as adv, intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: collapse, fizzle, abode, also ran.
- Useful contrasts: boffo, popular song, ace.
- Usage evidence: If you don't do anything about it, the party will be a flop.
How to use "flop"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flop" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flop" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flop" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flop" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flop" is acting as adv, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "collapse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flop", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A heavy, passive fall; a plopping down.
- 2 Abbreviation of floating-point operation. abbreviation, alt-of
"The Correlator can perform 750 billion ‘flops’, or simple calculations, per second."
- 3 Synonym of flop.
- 4 the act of throwing yourself down; collapse; sink wordnet
- 5 A complete failure, especially in the entertainment industry.
"Well I know your little baby sister / She thinks that I'm a flop / But I guess that you know that it's true / I spent more time at the bottom than the top"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 One floating-point operation per second, a unit of measure of processor speed.
"The gigaflop supercomputers of today are almost useless. What is needed is a teraflop machine. That’s a machine that can run at a trillion flops, a trillion floating-point operations per second, or roughly a thousand times as fast as Cray Y-MP8."
- 7 a complete failure wordnet
- 8 The first three cards turned face-up by the dealer in a community card poker game.
"The flop didn't help you but probably did help the other hands."
- 9 someone who is unsuccessful wordnet
- 10 Dung, as in cow-flop.
""Maybe as you think," he said, "because as I've the misfortune of an accidental slip on a cow-flop therefore I has the inability of an unborn babe, ..."
- 11 an arithmetic operation performed on floating-point numbers wordnet
- 12 A flophouse. slang
"He was kind of worn but the tooth said he'd never lost a fight or slept in a flop."
Verb
- 1 To fall heavily due to lack of energy. intransitive
"He flopped down in front of the television, exhausted from work."
- 2 fall suddenly and abruptly wordnet
- 3 To cause to drop heavily. transitive
"The tired mule flopped its ears forward and trudged on."
- 4 fall loosely wordnet
- 5 To fail completely; not to be successful at all (of a movie, play, book, song etc.). informal, intransitive
"The latest album flopped and so the studio canceled her contract."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 fail utterly; collapse wordnet
- 7 To pretend to be fouled in sports, such as basketball, hockey (the same as to dive in soccer) intransitive
"It starts with Chris Paul, because Blake didn't really used to flop like that, you know, last year."
- 8 To strike about with something broad and flat, as a fish with its tail, or a bird with its wings; to rise and fall; to flap. intransitive
"The brim of a hat flops."
- 9 To have (a hand) using the community cards dealt on the flop. transitive
"Both players flopped sets! Cards dealt on the flop: Q95. Player A's hole cards: 55 (making three of a kind: 555). Player B's hole cards: QQ (making three of a kind: QQQ)."
- 10 To stay, sleep or live in a place. intransitive, slang
"[…] not just the old material goal of "three hots and a place to flop," […]"
- 11 To flip; to reverse (an image). transitive
"The possibilities of this type of shot are almost limitless. By quartering the screen and duplicating and flopping the picture, a kaleidoscopic effect is achieved."
- 12 To deny someone parole. slang, transitive
"I've been incarcerated going on 9½ years. I have never been back on the streets or given a chance to prove myself to society. Every time I would meet the parole board they would flop me telling me I would be a threat to society."
Adverb
- 1 Right, squarely, flat-out. not-comparable
"She fell flop on the floor."
- 2 With a flopping sound. not-comparable
Adverb
- 1 in a face down manner wordnet
- 2 with a flopping sound wordnet
Intj
- 1 Indicating the sound of something flopping.
""One step. Steady. Another step. Flop! I got him!""
Example
"If you don't do anything about it, the party will be a flop."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flop"?
Common synonyms include: collapse, fizzle, abode, also ran, also-ran, alter.
How do you use "flop" in a sentence?
If you don't do anything about it, the party will be a flop.
How do you pronounce "flop"?
Pronounced /flɒp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Recorded since 1602, probably a variant of flap with a duller, heavier sound
Etymology 2
A variant capitalization of FLOP, a syllabic acronym of floating-point operations.
Etymology 3
A syllabic acronym from floating-point operation.