Standard Lemma guide

downtime

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdaʊntaɪm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/
  • CMU ARPABET: D AW1 N T AY2 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Time lost due to the failure of some system or machinery, such as a computer crash or power outage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: uptime

2

noun

Meaning 2

A period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A period of time set aside for relaxation and rest; leisure time, free time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Canada, US, countable, uncountable

Examples

  • I’ve been working all weekend. I need some downtime.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is not operating (especially as a result of malfunctions)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: uptime

Broader terms: time period, period of time, period

History

Etymology

From down (“out of order; out of service; inoperable”) + time.

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: فترة التعطيل — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Bulgarian: престо́й (prestój) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Chinese Mandarin: 停機時間 /停机时间 (tíngjī shíjiān) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Danish: nedetid — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Dutch: downtime — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Finnish: häiriöaika — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Finnish: käyttökatko — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Finnish: keskeytysaika — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Finnish: seisokkiaika — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • French: pause — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • French: repos — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • French: taux d'indisponibilité — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • French: temps d'arrêt — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • German: Downtime — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • German: Ausfallzeit — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Hungarian: állásidő — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Hungarian: állási idő — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Hungarian: holtidő — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Hungarian: kiesési időtartam — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Hungarian: meghibásodási idő — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Hungarian: üzemszünet — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Italian: tempo di fermo — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Italian: tempo di riposo — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Italian: tempo passivo — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Japanese: ダウンタイム (dauntaimu) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Korean: 다운타임 (dauntaim) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Macedonian: за́стој (zástoj) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Māori: wākarioi — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nedetid — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nedetid — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Persian: زمان اکار — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Polish: przestój — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Russian: просто́й (prostój) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Russian: вре́мя просто́я (vrémja prostója) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Swedish: avbrottstid — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Swedish: nertid — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Yakut: боростуой (borostuoy) — amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control
  • Finnish: rauhallisempi aika — period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops
  • Spanish: tiempo muerto — period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops
  • Spanish: tiempo inactivo — period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops