downturn
/ˈdaʊntɝn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.19 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: decline"
- "The downturn in the economy made it harder to find jobs."
- "Any [economic] downturn will eventually impact on rail freight, and indeed passenger traffic, so operators are watching this closely."
- "In the 1950s, the downturn in BR's financial performance can be illustrated by its declining market share. Between 1951 and 1961, the railways' market share of passenger business fell from 21% to 14%, and for freight from 45% to 29%."
Etymology
Etymology tree English down- Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-nos Proto-Indo-European *tórh₁nos Proto-Hellenic *tórnos Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor. Latin tornus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin tornōbor. Proto-West Germanic *turnēn Old English turnian ▲ Latin tornō Old French tornerbor. Middle English turnen English turn English downturn From down- + turn.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdaʊntɝn/
- British English: /ˈdaʊntɜːn/