many people falling ill or dying around the same time
faint, collapse or die in large numbers
rapidly decrease in number
drop out of a group in large numbers
It was flu season and people in our office were dropping like flies.
In the beginning, a lot of people signed up for the health program, but after a few months they started dropping like flies.
When one of the children in the class got infected, most of the other children started dropping like flies.
We had an especially harsh summer this year. The heat was unbearable and people were dropping like flies.
The contest was so difficult that the participants were dropping like flies.
A mysterious and deadly illness was spreading throughout the region, claiming lives and stretching the healthcare system, as people were dropping like flies.
If any one of us catches the virus, all of us will be dropping like flies, so be careful.
There is no origin for this idiom
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definition
Common phrase that has a specific meaning.