let down
Britishverb
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(also preposition) to lower
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to fail to fulfil the expectations of (a person); disappoint
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to undo, shorten, and resew (the hem) so as to lengthen (a dress, skirt, etc)
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to untie (long hair that is bound up) and allow to fall loose
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to deflate
to let down a tyre
noun
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a disappointment
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the gliding descent of an aircraft in preparation for landing
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the release of milk from the mammary glands following stimulation by the hormone oxytocin
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Cause to descend, lower, as in They let down the sails . [Mid-1100s]
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Also, let up . Slacken, abate, as in Sales are letting down in this quarter , or They didn't let up in their efforts until the end . The first term dates from the mid-1800s, the variant from the late 1700s.
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See let someone down . Also see let one's hair down .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He says many families in Somerset feel let down by the system, adding that he has "heard their frustration and their heartbreaking experiences".
From BBC
"Parma played very well and the ball just didn't want to go in for us tonight. We wanted the three points, so of course we feel let down, but we go again."
From Barron's
Care Courts, which were meant to help address this, have not yet had the anticipated impact, and some families have felt let down.
From Los Angeles Times
That hype has now left some of its American believers feeling let down.
Her husband, who had cancer treatment through the NHS, said: "As a family, we've also benefited from excellent NHS care, so I just feel my wife has been so badly let down by an individual."
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.