Floppy

'flɒpi

adjectiveBeginner📊CommonDescriptive
2 meanings1 idiom/phrase3 questions

Definitions

2 meanings
1

Lacking firmness or rigidity; tending to bend or hang loosely.

'flɒpi

adjectiveneutralBeginner
Descriptive

Lacking firmness or stiffness.

The puppy's floppy ears always seemed to get in the way.

💡 Simply: Imagine a noodle that's not cooked all the way; it's floppy! It can't stand up on its own, and it bends easily. Anything that is easily bent or not stiff can be called floppy.

👶 For kids: When something is floppy, it's not stiff! Like a dog's ears that flop around.

More Examples

2

She wore a floppy hat to protect her face from the sun.

3

The old floppy disk was filled with important data.

How It's Used

General

"The dog's floppy ears bounced as it ran."

Technology

"The old floppy disk was no longer a reliable storage medium."

Figurative

"His floppy attitude made it difficult to take him seriously."

2

A flexible, removable magnetic disk for storing computer data.

'flɒpi

nounneutralmedium
Technical

Referring to a floppy disk or the characteristics associated with it.

The museum had a display featuring a classic floppy disk.

💡 Simply: Remember those square, bendy disks we used to use for computers? Those are called floppy disks! They're now old technology.

👶 For kids: A floppy is like a flat, bendy square that computers used to save stuff on.

More Examples

2

He pulled a floppy out of his archive box, filled with nostalgia.

3

Floppies were once the main storage medium for personal computers.

How It's Used

Technology (Historical)

"I used to save all my data on a floppy."

Tip:Imagine the old, square plastic case you used to store files.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & expressions

floppy disk drive

The device that reads and writes data to floppy disks.

"The floppy disk drive was a standard component on computers in the 1980s."

Derived from the flexibility of the original floppy disk. Originally referred to the disk itself and then extended to describe something that is not firm or stiff.

Floppy disks were a primary storage medium in personal computers from the 1970s through the 1990s.

Memory tip

Think of a floppy stuffed animal that doesn't stand up straight.

Word Origin

LanguageEnglish
Original meaning

"Descriptive, from the physical flexibility of the original storage medium."

Base: flop
floppy earsfloppy diskfloppy hatfloppy drive

Common misspellings

floppy diskflopfloppie

Usage

60%Spoken
40%Written