downturn

From down- +‎ turn.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊntɜːn/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊntɝn/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈdæɔntɜːn/

downturn (plural downturns)

1. A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.

   Antonyms: upturn, uptick, increase, improvement

   Hypernyms: turn, change; trend

   Near-synonym: decline

   The downturn in the economy made it harder to find jobs.

   • 2019 October, Rail Freight Group, “Consequences of a no deal Brexit”, in Modern Railways, page 20:

     Any [economic] downturn will eventually impact on rail freight, and indeed passenger traffic, so operators are watching this closely.

   • 2023 March 8, David Clough, “The long road that led to Beeching”, in RAIL, number 978, page 39:

     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%.

downturn (third-person singular simple present downturns, present participle downturning, simple past and past participle downturned)

1. To turn downwards.
2. To decline.

• turn down, turndown