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• slump
  slump

  verb (used without object)

  to drop or fall heavily; collapse.
• Slump
  Slump

  noun

  another name for the Depression

slump

American  

[sluhmp] / slʌmp /

verb (used without object)

1. to drop or fall heavily; collapse.

   Suddenly she slumped to the floor.

2. to assume a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture.

   Stand up straight and don't slump!

3. to decrease or fall suddenly and markedly, as prices or the market.

4. to decline or deteriorate, as health, business, quality, or efficiency.

5. to sink into a bog, muddy place, etc., or through ice or snow.

6. to sink heavily, as the spirits.

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noun

1. an act or instance of slumping.

2. a decrease, decline, or deterioration.

   Synonyms:

   setback, reverse, lapse

3. a period of decline or deterioration.

4. any mild recession in the economy as a whole or in a particular industry.

5. 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.

6. a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture, especially of the shoulders.

7. a landslide or rockslide.

8. the vertical subsidence of freshly mixed concrete that is a measure of consistency and stiffness.

9. 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

1. to sink or fall heavily and suddenly

2. to relax ungracefully

3. (of business activity, etc) to decline suddenly; collapse

4. (of health, interest, etc) to deteriorate or decline suddenly or markedly

5. (of soil or rock) to slip down a slope, esp a cliff, usually with a rotational movement

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noun

1. a sudden or marked decline or failure, as in progress or achievement; collapse

2. a decline in commercial activity, prices, etc

3. economics another word for depression

4. the act of slumping

5. a slipping of earth or rock; landslide

Slump ² British  

/ slʌmp /

noun

1. another name for the Depression

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Other Word Forms

• unslumped
  adjective
• unslumping
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

So that protection against a slump kept them from dumping stocks in a panic and subsequent rewinding of that protection provided fuel for the rally in April.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

God forbid a lady feels ravenous during her three p.m. slump.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

After Lordi's victory in 2006, the country experienced a devastating 15-year slump.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

It is the latest bleak news for Europe's biggest economy, which has been stagnating for years due to a manufacturing slump, weak demand for exports and the US tariff blitz.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

He had been watching the action on the bridge, but now as Narciso talked to him I saw his head slump on his chest.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Related Words

• collapse
• deteriorate
• droop
• drop
• fall
• fall off
• go down
• hunch
• plummet
• plunge
• sag
• slide
• slip
• slouch
• tumble