to drop or fall heavily; collapse.
Suddenly she slumped to the floor.
to assume a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture.
Stand up straight and don't slump!
to decrease or fall suddenly and markedly, as prices or the market.
to decline or deteriorate, as health, business, quality, or efficiency.
to sink into a bog, muddy place, etc., or through ice or snow.
to sink heavily, as the spirits.
an act or instance of slumping.
a decrease, decline, or deterioration.
a period of decline or deterioration.
any mild recession in the economy as a whole or in a particular industry.
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.
a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture, especially of the shoulders.
a landslide or rockslide.
the vertical subsidence of freshly mixed concrete that is a measure of consistency and stiffness.
New England Cooking. a dessert made with cooked fruit, especially apples or berries, topped with a thick layer of biscuit dough or crumbs.
to sink or fall heavily and suddenly
to relax ungracefully
(of business activity, etc) to decline suddenly; collapse
(of health, interest, etc) to deteriorate or decline suddenly or markedly
(of soil or rock) to slip down a slope, esp a cliff, usually with a rotational movement
a sudden or marked decline or failure, as in progress or achievement; collapse
a decline in commercial activity, prices, etc
economics another word for depression
the act of slumping
a slipping of earth or rock; landslide
1670–80; originally, to sink into a bog or mud; perhaps imitative ( cf. plump 2)
To slump is to fall or slouch down. It's also a downturn in performance — a struggling ballplayer and a sinking economy are both in a slump. There are many kinds of slumps, but they all involve things going downhill. If you slide down in your chair, you slump. Other slumps are less physical. If a successful quarterback starts losing games and throwing interceptions, that's a slump. The original meaning of slump, back in the 1670s, was "fall or sink into a muddy place," while the more figurative meanings came much later.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fixed-asset investment shrank 4.1% in January-May, worse than prior periods, as the property-sector slump continued.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
The U.S. and Iran reached an interim deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to slump.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
The “Tesla Takedown” protests of 2025 contributed to a deep slump in the company’s once flourishing car sales and overall revenue that’s persisted into this year.
From Slate • Jun. 15, 2026
The slump during Monday’s session came after U.S.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 15, 2026
My phone vibrates as I slump into the seat.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
