build-down
[ bild-doun ]
/ ˈbɪldˌdaʊn /
noun
a process for reducing armaments, especially the number of nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., by eliminating several older weapons for each new one that is deployed.
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Origin of build-down
First recorded in 1980–85; by analogy with buildup
Words nearby build-down
buhrstone, BUI, buibui, build, buildable, build-down, builder, buildering, build in, building, building and loan association
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Idioms and Phrases with build-down
build down
Reduce, diminish, as in Owing to increased vigilance, traffic in narcotics is finally building down. This term, the antonym of build up, came into use about 1980 with regard to reducing the stockpile of nuclear weapons and soon was applied more widely.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.