Idiom
drop the ball
To drop the ball means to make a mistake or fail to do something you were responsible for.
Meanings
To make a mistake or fail to handle a responsibility properly.
To forget to do something important, causing inconvenience or trouble.
Definition
If you drop the ball, you fail to do what you should have done, often by forgetting, mishandling a task, or missing a deadline. It suggests that the mistake caused a problem for other people or for a project. The phrase is common in work, school, and everyday responsibilities.
Examples
- I dropped the ball and forgot to send the email.
- The vendor dropped the ball on delivery, so the event started late.
- If we drop the ball on this report, the whole team will look bad.
- She apologized for dropping the ball during the client call.
Common mistake
Learners sometimes use it for accidents with real balls, but it usually means making a mistake or failing at a responsibility.
More at B2 level
- Bob's your uncle Used to say that something will be easy or will happen exactly as expected after a simple step.
- touch base To touch base means to briefly contact someone to share updates, confirm plans, or check progress.
- ballpark figure A ballpark figure is an approximate number or estimate, not an exact one.
- take the mickey To take the mickey means to mock someone or tease them in an unkind or cheeky way.
- cheap as chips Very cheap; costing very little money.
More idiom (verb phrase)s
- touch base To touch base means to briefly contact someone to share updates, confirm plans, or check progress.
- take the mickey To take the mickey means to mock someone or tease them in an unkind or cheeky way.
- have a chinwag To have a chinwag means to have a relaxed, friendly chat with someone.
- face the music To accept and deal with the unpleasant consequences of what you have done or a difficult situation.
- get down to brass tacks To get down to brass tacks means to start talking about the most important, practical details of so…