To Dangle
To Hang Down, To Drip
intransitive verb, ichidan verb, transitive verb
If 垂らす is "to dangle something" then 垂れる is to dangle or to drip on its own. So you can use 垂れる to describe your dog's floppy ears hanging down or your ice cream’s melty goodness dripping away. You know this because it's rare (れる) to witness the moment something starts dangling or dripping down.
Sometimes, 垂れる can also take a direct object in specific expressions, like 説教を垂れる (to give a preachy lecture), こうべを垂れる (to bow one's head in humility), or the crude slang クソを垂れる (to drop a load).
The reading is the same as 垂らす.
下に垂れる
to hang down
前に垂れる
to hang in front
自然に垂れる
to hang naturally
頭を垂れる
to hang one's head
うんちくを垂れる
to display one's knowledge, to ramble about trivia
文句を垂れる
to complain
クソを垂れる
to take a dump
水が垂れる
water drips
バストが垂れる
breasts sag
よだれが垂れる
saliva dribbles
ソースが垂れる
sauce drips
フタがちゃんと閉まっていなかったみたいで、横からソースが垂れている。
It seems that the lid wasn't properly closed, so there's sauce leaking from one side.
昨夜ジャグチの調子が悪くて、水がポタポタ垂れる音が気になってほとんど寝られなかった。
Something was wrong with the faucet last night, and the sound of dripping water bothered me so much I hardly got any sleep.
ジャズの尻尾は次郎がいない間ずっと垂れ下がっていたが、彼の車が聞こえた途端、ぴんとはね上がり、激しく振り始めた。
Although Jazz's tail had been drooping the entire time Jiro was out, the moment he heard his car, it sprang straight up and started wagging furiously.