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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

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

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

O'Sullivan has taken steps to prioritise his mental health in recent years, withdrawing from tournaments and discussing his battles with depression and anxiety.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Many are worried that social media continues to increase the risks of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, bullying and other harms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

"I ultimately hope that there is more advocacy for postpartum depression and psychosis."

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

Research reveals that travel can build stress resilience, sharpen cognitive health and ward off depression far better than staying home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Roosevelt kept his mind and body in constant motion, trying to fend off his grief and depression.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Take the top of the bull market in October 2007, just prior to the global financial crisis, the worst bear market since the Great Depression.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

The family-owned Pink’s opened as a push cart in 1939, selling 10-cent dogs during the Great Depression.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The entity would operate like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a self-regulatory body established during the Great Depression that oversees brokerage firms and is funded by the sector, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Unfortunately, just over one year later, the Great Depression arrived, proving Hoover tragically wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“You mean all the whos, whats, whys, whens, and wheres? Yes, I suppose I have. And thanks to the Depression, I’ve also been promoted to copy editor, typesetter, and coffee maker extraordinaire.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Wars, diseases, revolutions, depressions, bankruptcies, financial crises and natural disasters all swept through history and wiped out wealth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 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

The energy released by the blast may have also created small depressions in the ground that later filled with water, forming today's swamps and lakes.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 19, 2025

That era also coincided with a succession of financial crises that could have sparked serious economic depressions had they not been constrained by the regulatory mechanisms the New Deal had put in place.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025

She took off her glasses and rubbed the depressions on each side of her nose.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd