Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

drop the ball

to fail in one's responsibilities or duties; to not complete something

Etymology:

  • One of the earliest uses of the term drop the ball being used idiomatically, rather than literally, is from Marcus Goodrich, Delilah (1941)
0 Views

Jack refused to continue with the project. We gave the project to Julie since Jack dropped the ball on the project.

Submitted by TriplePurple on August 22, 2024

Translation

Find a translation for the drop the ball phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to drop the ball

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this drop the ball phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this drop the ball definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "drop the ball." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/drop-the-ball_64392>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    Form is temporary, _______ is permanent.
    A tension
    B class
    C strength
    D patience