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slump

[sluhmp]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to drop or fall heavily; collapse: Suddenly she slumped to the floor.
  2. to assume a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture: Stand up straight and don't slump!
  3. to decrease or fall suddenly and markedly, as prices or the market.
  4. to decline or deteriorate, as health, business, quality, or efficiency.
  5. to sink into a bog, muddy place, etc., or through ice or snow.
  6. to sink heavily, as the spirits.
noun
  1. an act or instance of slumping.
  2. a decrease, decline, or deterioration.
  3. a period of decline or deterioration.
  4. any mild recession in the economy as a whole or in a particular industry.
  5. a period during which a person performs slowly, inefficiently, or ineffectively, especially a period during which an athlete or team fails to play or score as well as usual.
  6. a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture, especially of the shoulders.
  7. a landslide or rockslide.
  8. the vertical subsidence of freshly mixed concrete that is a measure of consistency and stiffness.
  9. New England Cookery. a dessert made with cooked fruit, especially apples or berries, topped with a thick layer of biscuit dough or crumbs.

Origin of slump

1670–80; orig., to sink into a bog or mud; perhaps imitative (cf. plump2)
Related formsun·slumped, adjectiveun·slump·ing, adjective

Synonyms

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8. lapse, reverse, setback.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for slumping

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "I guess that's definite, then," Rolf said, slumping a little in disappointment.

    The Happy Unfortunate

    Robert Silverberg

  • "She's got it," Mallory groaned, slumping from the heights again.

    Excuse Me!

    Rupert Hughes

  • "You wush right," he said, slumping against the back of the chair.

  • “And see the porch hammocks,” called Bess, “slumping” into one.

  • “So am I,” said Nancy, slumping limply into the depths of her red velour chair.

    Outside Inn

    Ethel M. Kelley

British Dictionary definitions for slumping

slump

verb (intr)
  1. to sink or fall heavily and suddenly
  2. to relax ungracefully
  3. (of business activity, etc) to decline suddenly; collapse
  4. (of health, interest, etc) to deteriorate or decline suddenly or markedly
  5. (of soil or rock) to slip down a slope, esp a cliff, usually with a rotational movement
noun
  1. a sudden or marked decline or failure, as in progress or achievement; collapse
  2. a decline in commercial activity, prices, etc
  3. economics another word for depression
  4. the act of slumping
  5. a slipping of earth or rock; landslide

Word Origin

C17: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Low German slump bog, Norwegian slumpa to fall

Slump

noun
  1. the Slump another name for the Depression
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

Word Origin and History for slumping

slump

v.

1670s, "fall or sink into a muddy place," probably from a Scandinavian source, cf. Norwegian and Danish slumpe "fall upon," Swedish slumpa; perhaps ultimately of imitative origin. Related: Slumped; slumping.

The word "slump," or "slumped," has too coarse a sound to be used by a lady. [Eliza Leslie, "Miss Leslie's Behaviour Book," Philadelphia, 1839]

Economic sense from 1888.

slump

n.

"act of slumping, slumping movement," 1850; "heavy decline in prices on the stock exchange," 1888, from slump (v.). Generalized by 1922 to "sharp decline in trade or business."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper