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slowdown

[ sloh-doun ]
/ ˈsloʊˌdaʊn /
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noun

a slowing down or delay in progress, action, etc.
a deliberate slowing of pace by workers to win demands from their employers.
Sports. a holding or passing tactic by a team to retain possession of the ball, puck, etc., or use up a maximal amount of time, as to safeguard a lead or thwart a high-scoring opponent.

RELATED WORDS

decline, stagnation, drop, delay, strike, downturn, slackening, falloff, drop-off, deceleration, downtrend, inactivity, slack, stoppage, freeze, arrest, retardation, slow-up

Nearby words

slow-twitch, slow-up, slow-wave sleep, slow-witted, slowcoach, slowdown, slowly, slowness, slowpoke, slowworm, sloyd

Origin of slowdown

First recorded in 1895–1900; noun use of verb phrase slow down
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slowdown

British Dictionary definitions for slowdown

slowdown

/ (ˈsləʊˌdaʊn) /

noun

the usual US and Canadian word for go-slow
any slackening of pace
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for slowdown

slowdown

n.

also slow-down, 1892, "act of going more slowly," from verbal phrase; see slow (v.) + down (adv.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper