soft landing
Americannoun
noun
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a landing by a spacecraft on the moon or a planet at a sufficiently low velocity for the equipment or occupants to remain unharmed
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a decrease in demand that does not result in a country's economy falling into recession
Etymology
Origin of soft landing
First recorded in 1960–65
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.
Most managers expect a soft landing, favoring consumer stocks, bonds, and REITs, while oil and semiconductors are seen as crowded trades.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
It’s a soft landing for his fall from grace.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
The report raised hopes that the U.S. economy may yet pull out a rare soft landing — that is, cutting inflation to the Fed’s 2% annual target while avoiding a recession in doing so.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 16, 2026
“I’m a little nervous about the whole soft landing here because households are overall in good financial shape,” said Marc Giannoni, chief U.S. economist at Barclays.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
Mr. Retro comes to a soft landing in our backyard.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
