slump
verb (used without object)
to drop or fall heavily; collapse.
Jump To:
slump
American
[sluhmp]
/ slʌmp /
verb (used without object)
-
slumps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
slumped,
past participle, past
-
slumping
present participle
-
to drop or fall heavily; collapse.
Suddenly she slumped to the floor.
-
to assume a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture.
Stand up straight and don't slump!
-
to decrease or fall suddenly and markedly, as prices or the market.
-
to decline or deteriorate, as health, business, quality, or efficiency.
-
to sink into a bog, muddy place, etc., or through ice or snow.
-
to sink heavily, as the spirits.
noun
-
slumps
plural
-
an act or instance of slumping.
-
a decrease, decline, or deterioration.
-
a period of decline or deterioration.
-
any mild recession in the economy as a whole or in a particular industry.
-
a period during which a person performs slowly, inefficiently, or ineffectively, especially a period during which an athlete or team fails to play or score as well as usual.
-
a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture, especially of the shoulders.
-
a landslide or rockslide.
-
the vertical subsidence of freshly mixed concrete that is a measure of consistency and stiffness.
-
New England Cooking. a dessert made with cooked fruit, especially apples or berries, topped with a thick layer of biscuit dough or crumbs.
slump
1
British
/ slʌmp /
verb
-
to sink or fall heavily and suddenly
-
to relax ungracefully
-
(of business activity, etc) to decline suddenly; collapse
-
(of health, interest, etc) to deteriorate or decline suddenly or markedly
-
(of soil or rock) to slip down a slope, esp a cliff, usually with a rotational movement
noun
-
a sudden or marked decline or failure, as in progress or achievement; collapse
-
a decline in commercial activity, prices, etc
-
economics another word for depression
-
the act of slumping
-
a slipping of earth or rock; landslide
Slump
2
British
/ slʌmp /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slumpsimple
-
slumpssimple
-
have slumpedperfect
-
has slumpedperfect
-
am slumpingprogressive
-
are slumpingprogressive
-
is slumpingprogressive
-
have been slumpingperfect progressive
-
has been slumpingperfect progressive
Past
-
slumpedsimple
-
had slumpedperfect
-
was slumpingprogressive
-
were slumpingprogressive
-
had been slumpingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slump
1670–80; originally, to sink into a bog or mud; perhaps imitative ( cf. plump 2)
Explanation
To slump is to fall or slouch down. It's also a downturn in performance — a struggling ballplayer and a sinking economy are both in a slump. There are many kinds of slumps, but they all involve things going downhill. If you slide down in your chair, you slump. Other slumps are less physical. If a successful quarterback starts losing games and throwing interceptions, that's a slump. The original meaning of slump, back in the 1670s, was "fall or sink into a muddy place," while the more figurative meanings came much later.
Vocabulary lists containing slump
The Lingo of Body Language
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Long Way Down
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Dear Martin
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
While the verdict caps the fallout from Evergrande's collapse, challenges posed by a stubborn slump in the once-booming property sector still loom large for China and its leaders.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Maxx didn’t reflect an uncontrollable macroeconomic slump or inherent brand weakness, but an operational misstep management can fix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
While the bond-market selloff has been unnerving some investors, it probably doesn’t represent a crisis moment for a stock market that was just getting on its feet after the summer’s chip-driven slump.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
And before arriving in Colorado, the team was in a collective slump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Just out of the woods on the other side of the hill, there’s a meadow, and I slump down in the grass to rest.
From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Stock Slump: Mark Zuckerberg offered fresh details on Meta’s aggressive AI plans and addressed the market’s negative reaction to its earnings in a company meeting Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Born in Nagoya, Japan in 1955, Mr Toriyama broke into the comic book world in the early 1980s with Dr. Slump, which tells the story of a little girl robot Arale and her scientist creator.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2024
His Dr Slump series that started in 1980 became a huge hit, elevating him to a best-selling young comic artist.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
He was expected to release a new mixtape with rapper Ski Mask the Slump God this year.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2019
So," resumed Slump, "seeing we did one good job for a certain liberal gentleman in Stanley Junction, we'll try and please him in another.
From Ralph in the Switch Tower by Allen Chapman
She slumps over a cloth in the arms of a caretaker with her eyes closed, but rouses when another person brings her what appears to be raw meat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Analysts attributed slumps in Tesla sales in 2025 to be partly due to customers turning against Musk.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Midcareer stalls often start as early-career slumps and can ripple across a lifetime of earnings, the analysis found.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Too wet and it slumps into mush territory.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
He releases the rudder, slumps against the sagging sides.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
Instead the value of his tech investments slumped by around 25% in July.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
They sharply lagged behind in 2008 when stocks also slumped and inflation got very low.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
MarketAxess’s stock price has slumped since then, falling more than 70% from its peak in December 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Shares of Adidas slumped on Thursday after the German sportswear group missed analysts’ expectations for profit after increasing marketing spending around the World Cup.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Hannah was slumped into Aaron’s side like she had been crying.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Home sales are slumping, renovation spending is losing steam and yet lumber prices have risen this summer to their highest level in four years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
AstraZeneca shares were slumping while Bristol Myers Squibb was jumping on Monday on reported deal talks.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
China’s auto sales remained weak in June, with retail sales of passenger cars slumping 20.2% in the first half, the China Passenger Car Association data showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
It quickly surged in value before slumping sharply.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Mrs. Janssen can tell, from my slumping shoulders or my rumpled clothes, or maybe just from the way I'm walking.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
