letdown

Or let-down

[let-doun]

noun

1. a decrease in volume, force, energy, etc..

   a letdown in sales; a general letdown of social barriers.

2. disillusionment, discouragement, or disappointment.

   The job was a letdown.

3. depression; deflation.

   He felt a terrible letdown at the end of the play.

4. the accelerated movement of milk into the mammary glands of lactating mammals upon stimulation, as by massage or suckling.

5. Aeronautics.,  the descent of an aircraft from a higher to a lower altitude preparatory to making an approach and landing or to making a target run or the like.

Word History and Origins

Origin of letdown¹

First recorded in 1760–70; noun use of verb phrase let down

Example Sentences

Besides, after coming face-to-face with an ostrich, anything short of a dodo was bound to be a letdown.

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The Packers respond to last Sunday’s letdown versus Carolina with renewed focus.

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Though she had netted the prestigious title, the job itself was a letdown.

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What the Dodgers hoped would be a high-upside play, given his 2.38 ERA with the Twins this season, has instead become yet another bullpen letdown.

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The Panthers could have a letdown after their big division win, and the Patriots grind out a close one.

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Related Words

• anticlimax 
• comedown 
• setback