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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

This is why Treasury interest rates collapse in a recession or depression — such as during in the global financial crisis or the pandemic lockdowns.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

Other types could include conditions that can co-occur with autism, such as ADHD, depression and epilepsy.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

His mother told me that when he was released from the service, he suffered from multiple disabilities, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Fans of Hayden Panettiere are calling out Neutrogena following the actress’s death Sunday over her allegation that the skincare brand dropped her for publicly discussing her postpartum depression.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The trail ran up its face along a slight depression, like an elevator shaft.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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

The end of the Great Depression was just 25 years in our rearview mirror, but the stains were still easily seen throughout rural Kentucky.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed social insurance as a new approach to economic security.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

In 1929, the same Great Depression that affected the United States also struck Germany and other European countries.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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

America has been through plenty of dark times in its history, from a Civil War to depressions and two bloody world wars that leveled much of the world.

From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2026

He argued correctly that the craters are depressions rather than mounds.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan