downtime
Americannoun
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downtimes
plural
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a time during a regular working period when an employee is not actively productive.
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an interval during which a machine is not productive, as during repair, malfunction, maintenance.
noun
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commerce time during which a machine or plant is not working because it is incapable of production, as when under repair: the term is sometimes used to include all nonproductive time Compare idle time
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informal time spent not working; spare time
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of downtime
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Finally, some downtime, with no distractions, to tackle “Infinite Jest.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
He is also fresh-faced, because he’s filming the Alex Garland film “Elden Ring” in London during his downtime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
What I really mean is that, in my downtime, I’ve been steeping myself in things I already know will bring me comfort.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The school’s principal, Mark Dangora, said adding more downtime is still a work in progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
We push through without a break today, but I’m not in every scene, so I actually have quite a bit of downtime.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
“We’re going to see a traffic jam of patch releases and system downtimes as companies try to apply these patches.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Greg Becker, SVB’s chief executive, was given to enthusiastic pronouncements on the prospects of start-ups and tech firms, even in recent downtimes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2023
This assumed that global demand would remain high for the remainder of 2022, the statement cautioned, adding it did not expect major production downtimes due to the unavailability of gas in Europe or missing parts.
From Reuters ● Nov. 11, 2022
But toy sales tend to be resilient in downtimes because parents do not want to disappoint their children, said Linda Bolton Weiser, an analyst with D.A.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2022
He’s shorthanded because only three of the 12 servers he laid off during the downtimes have returned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2021
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.
