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

While commitments can grease the wheels of a supply chain during a boom, they also serve as insurance for suppliers against an unexpected downturn in end demand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Experts told MarketWatch that the reasons are structural and decades in the making: The 2008 financial downturn led to tightened underwriting standards, making it more difficult for young people to qualify for mortgages.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

But it has since been replaced by a less lucrative arrangement, against the backdrop of a broader downturn across the entertainment industry.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Evergrande's 2021 default and the 2024 liquidation order by a Hong Kong court have become emblematic of the broader downturn in China's once-mighty property sector.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 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

But Apple’s “go-slow” strategy comes in handy on days when investor concerns about AI overspending flare up, insulating the stock from downturns that hit the semiconductor space.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

One of the Fed's key jobs is to keep inflation near 2%, a level policymakers say keeps prices stable, supports steady economic growth, and helps prevent deeper downturns.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Value is leaving growth behind at a pace rarely seen outside major market downturns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Advisers today consider this guideline outdated and oversimplified because it relies on static assumptions that don’t reflect modern retirement realities such as longer life expectancies, unexpected healthcare expenses and market downturns.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 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 Dwight D. (Dwight David) Eisenhower

Related Words

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