A mic drop is a gesture of intentionally dropping ones microphone at the end of a performance or speech to signal triumph. It is an expression of triumph for a successful event and indicates a boastful attitude toward ones own performance. The gesture with a microphone became prevalent in the 1980s, when it was used by rappers and comedians. Performers from different groups can engage in confrontational performance styles, and dropping the microphone after a particularly effective line indicated complete confidence in the opponents inability to come back with anything that would be worthy of a response.

Mic drop is not limited to stage performers and is commonly used in informal speech and debate and amongst friends to draw further attention to what they’ve said. It is generally used to highlight an important point and signify that the conversation or speech is over. The idea of the literal mic drop has been around since the 1950s when certain performers would “rock” the microphone stand or move it to make it look like it was falling. They would then reach out and pull it back to them. James Brown often used this move while on stage after “rescuing” a falling microphone and using the happy accident as a signature event.

In 2016, Google introduced a "mic drop" feature to Gmail on April Fools Day, allowing users to send a GIF of a Minion dropping a microphone as a reply to any email. If used, the feature also prevented the sender from seeing any subsequent replies that the recipient sent. The feature was removed within hours after Google received complaints from some users, with some reporting that they lost their job as a result of accidentally using it.