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build-down
[ bild-doun ]
/ ˈbɪldˌdaʊn /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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. 2023
How to use build-down in a sentence
We've begun the steepest defense build-down since the end of the Korean war, with likely effects through the whole economy.
If we are to build up to the level of our best opportunities, we must build down to solid foundation on the sense of obligation.
If the desire is to reinforce, to build down, the extrinsic muscles of the throat must relax, and the throat must expand.
The Renaissance of the Vocal Art|Edmund Myer
Other 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.