false drop

noun

A non-targeted card that falls out from a card data deck, when a rod search is performed.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounfalse drop (plural false drops)

plural false drops

  1. A non-targeted card that falls out from a card data deck, when a rod search is performed.
  2. Targets, hits, that are not relevant in an information retrieval search.
  3. Retrieved, but unwanted, document representations.
  4. noise in an information retrieval search.

    False drop (a): a false drop is a retrieved item that meets the syntactic requirements of a query but not the semantic requirements of a query […]

    1992, Carolyn Watters, Dictionary of Information Science and Technology, Boston: Academic Press

Origin

From rod- (needle-) based retrieval in edge-punched card-based data systems.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

false drop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20drop

MLA

“false drop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20drop. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “false drop,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/false%20drop.

Source: false drop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.