downturn

American  

[doun-turn] / ˈdaʊnˌtɜrn /

noun

downturns plural

1. an act or instance of turning down or the state of being turned down.

   the downturn of a lower lip in a permanent pout.

2. a turn or trend downward; decrease or decline.

   The new year brought a downturn in the cost of living.

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downturn British  

/ ˈdaʊnˌtɜːn /

noun

1. a drop or reduction in the success of a business or economy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• downturns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of downturn

First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase turn down

Explanation

A dip or reduction in an economic measure is a downturn. If a company makes less money than it did last year, for example, that's a downturn. You'll often find the word downturn in business or economic news, describing the country's entire economy, or the activity of a particular sector of the economy. If car sales decline, that's a downturn, and if fewer homes are sold, it's a downturn in the housing market. Ever since the mid-1920s, the word downturn has been commonly used by economists and business reporters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

downturn downturns

Businesses in Afghanistan's western city of Herat have suffered from a downturn in female customers opting to stay home following a recent crackdown by morality police on women's attire, according to shopkeepers, drivers and residents.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

The debate over the development has played out amid a serious downturn in the region’s entertainment industry, with studios shifting film and television production to Georgia, New Mexico and other out-of-state locations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

ANZ said slower fiscal spending and persistently weak property investment suggest the housing downturn remains a major drag on the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

It has halted the downturn that San Francisco saw during the Covid pandemic, when the population fell and house prices softened.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Some teachers blamed the erosion on the effects of the economic downturn in the oil patch, which had dealt Odessa a crippling blow.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Even theme park giants such as Disneyland are seeing slight downturns in attendance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

But because they on average have lost less than the indexes during market downturns, they come out ahead over the longer term on a risk-adjusted basis.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Microchip stocks tumbled on Tuesday, but a look at similar one-day downturns in the semiconductor sector shows the declines are often fleeting.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

“Central banks have much more room to cut rates in future economic downturns than in the decade before the pandemic, and we expect them to use it.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026

Although intermittent declines in economic activity persist as a problem in our enterprise system, recent downturns have been moderate and of short duration.

From State of the Union Address by Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David)

Related Words

• decline
• deterioration
• dip
• plunge
• slide
• slump