countdown
the backward counting in fixed time units from the initiation of a project, as a rocket launching, with the moment of firing designated as zero.
the final preparations made during this period.
a period of increasing activity, tension, or anxiety, as before a deadline.
Origin of countdown
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use countdown in a sentence
To mark the occasion, we count down the best of a Bond staple: the opening action scene.
Best James Bond Opening Sequences: ‘Goldeneye’ & More (VIDEO) | Kevin Fallon | October 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTSo from sexy vampires to philandering physicians, we count down the most seemingly inappropriate Sesame Street spoofs.
10 Most Inappropriate ‘Sesame Street’ Spoofs (VIDEO) | Kevin Fallon | September 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTBut that doesn't count down here, where everybody goes back to William the Conqueror.
The Gay Cockade | Temple BaileyI do not imagine he will ever be able to count down guineas against her guineas, or that he wants to do anything so absurd.
The Uninhabited House | Mrs. J. H. RiddellPerhaps there were ten of them—these galloping dots were hard to count—down in the distant bottom across the river.
The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories | Owen Wister
A moment later the count-down began, and he began setting up for departure.
Starman's Quest | Robert SilverbergNow, leave out the ‘My dear Mallowe,’ and beginning with the next as the first line, count down five lines.
The Crevice | William John Burns and Isabel Ostrander
British Dictionary definitions for countdown
/ (ˈkaʊntˌdaʊn) /
the act of counting backwards to time a critical operation exactly, such as the launching of a rocket or the detonation of explosives
to count numbers backwards towards zero, esp in timing such a critical operation
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with countdown
Count backward from any number to zero to indicate time, as in The final seconds before take off were counted down: 10, 9, 8, etc. The down in this term refers to the decreasing size of the numbers. This usage originated in connection with the firing of missiles and spacecraft and has since been broadened to such events as the roll call of states at a political convention. [c. 1950]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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