A dropped domain is a domain that has expired and has not been renewed by its owner. The registry holds these domains for about two months and then makes them available again for others to register. The date that they become available is called the 'drop date'. The drop date for a particular name is known in advance based on the 'domain life cycle'. If the domain is any good there will be a mad scamble of people and bots at the drop hour trying to register it before someone else does. Domain Life Cycle: http://www.icann.org/en/registrars/gtld-lifecycle.jpg
Nice explanation Tobycoke, @TS if you're looking to catch some expiring domains don't miss out on these sites: http://www.pool.com http://www.snapnames.com
what is the standard usually used in "dropped domain" term? there are many people here said : "please don't send me a dropped domain" in buy sell links section for example. Is domain that have 3months or up is still grouped as a "dropped domain"?