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• depression
  depression

  noun

  the act of depressing.
• Depression
  Depression

  noun

  the worldwide economic depression of the early 1930s, when there was mass unemployment

depression

American  

[dih-presh-uhn] / dɪˈprɛʃ ən /

noun

• depressions
  plural

1. the act of depressing.

2. the state of being depressed.

3. a depressed or sunken place or part; an area lower than the surrounding surface.

4. sadness; gloom; dejection.

   Synonyms:

   despondency, discouragement

5. Psychiatry. a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.

6. dullness or inactivity, as of trade.

7. Economics. a period during which business, employment, and stock-market values decline severely or remain at a very low level of activity.

8. the Depression. Great Depression.

9. Pathology. a low state of vital powers or functional activity.

10. Astronomy. the angular distance of a celestial body below the horizon; negative altitude.

11. Surveying. angle of depression.

12. Physical Geography. an area completely or mostly surrounded by higher land, ordinarily having interior drainage and not conforming to the valley of a single stream.

13. Meteorology. an area of low atmospheric pressure.

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depression ¹ British  

/ dɪˈprɛʃən /

noun

1. the act of depressing or state of being depressed

2. a depressed or sunken place or area

3. a mental disorder characterized by extreme gloom, feelings of inadequacy, and inability to concentrate

4. pathol an abnormal lowering of the rate of any physiological activity or function, such as respiration

5. an economic condition characterized by substantial and protracted unemployment, low output and investment, etc; slump

6. Also called: cyclone, low. meteorol a large body of rotating and rising air below normal atmospheric pressure, which often brings rain

7. (esp in surveying and astronomy) the angular distance of an object, celestial body, etc, below the horizontal plane through the point of observation Compare elevation

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Depression ² British  

/ dɪˈprɛʃən /

noun

1. Also known as: the Great Depression, the Slump. the worldwide economic depression of the early 1930s, when there was mass unemployment

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depression Scientific  

/ dĭ-prĕsh′ən /

1. A geographic area, such as a sinkhole or basin, that is lower than its surroundings.

2. A mood disorder characterized by an inability to experience pleasure, difficulty in concentrating, disturbance of sleep and appetite, and feelings of sadness, guilt, and helplessness.

3. A reduction in the activity of a physiological process, such as respiration.

4. A region of low atmospheric pressure. Low pressure systems result in precipitation, ranging from mild to severe in intensity.

5. See also cyclone

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depression Cultural  

1. A period of drastic decline in the national economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and unemployment. The best known of such periods is the Great Depression, which occurred in the 1930s.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minidepression
  noun
• nondepression
  noun
• predepression
  noun
• antidepression
  adjective
• postdepression
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• depressions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of depression

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (from Anglo-French ), from Medieval Latin dēpressiōn- (stem of dēpressiō ), Late Latin: “a pressing down,” equivalent to Latin dēpress(us) + -iōn- noun suffix; see depress, -ion

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Explanation

The act of pressing down on something is called making a depression, and when people suffer from psychological depression that is often what it feels like — the world itself is pressing down on them. Depression can be a persistent mood (rotten), an economic situation (the worst), or just the geography (low). The Great Depression was when poor policy and economic circumstances combined to create a long period of time everyone struggled to even get food on the table.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

depression Depression depressions

Enormous pressure placed on students in South Korea's ultra-competitive education system has been partly blamed for teenage depression and suicide rates that are among the highest in the world.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

So, too, was Capra’s, despite some misbegotten movies and his struggles with depression and other ailments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

One with pink hair said she had plunged into depression.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

At that particular time, I was suffering from anxiety and depression.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Dad had never hidden his depression from me.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

That hasn’t been the case in a long time, perhaps not since the Great Depression.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

After the stock-market crash in October 1929, Hoover proved ineffective at staving off the Great Depression.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

The few carousel companies that survived the Depression largely did so by switching to a cheaper, mass-produced product, such as transitioning from wood to aluminum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

He said his father’s family moved back to Tijuana during the Great Depression.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The Works Progress Administration was a government program formed to create jobs during the Depression years.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

She said the impact it had on her life was awful, with depressions that felt like "sinking into a dark hole", leaving her stuck in bed and not able to face the day.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

She sees a nation that has endured wars, depressions and cultural upheavals, and she wonders what inner resources we must cultivate to endure what comes next.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Nonsurgical options like dermal fillers or fat grafting can suffuse depressions to create a more centered appearance.

From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026

He added: “I know I could not have been so calm through depressions, inflations, banking and currency crises, wars and political disruptions.”

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026

She toyed with her knife making circular depressions in a pat of butter and the movement hypnotized me.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

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