Standard Lemma guide

downturn

noun · verb · 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: /ˈdaʊntɜːn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈdaʊntɝn/
  • Australian: /ˈdæɔntɜːn/
  • CMU ARPABET: D AW1 N T ER2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonym: decline
  • The downturn in the economy made it harder to find jobs.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: decline

Antonyms: upturn, uptick, increase, improvement

Broader terms: turn, change, trend

2

verb

Meaning 2

To turn downwards.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To decline.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a worsening of business or economic activity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the market took a downturn

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: downswing

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: worsening

Narrower terms: downspin

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: спад (spad) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Catalan: daltabaix — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Chinese Mandarin: 衰退 (shuāituì) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Chinese Mandarin: 下降 (xiàjiàng) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Finnish: lasku — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Finnish: heikkeneminen — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Finnish: taantuma — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Finnish: laskusuhdanne — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • French: ralentissement — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • French: déclin — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • German: Abschwung — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • German: Rückgang — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Italian: recessione — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Italian: calo — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Japanese: 下降 (kakō) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Korean: 하강 (hagang) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Māori: paheketanga — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Māori: hurirapanga — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Portuguese: declínio — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Russian: спад (spad) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Spanish: bajón — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Swedish: nedgång — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one
  • Ukrainian: спад (spad) — a downward trend, or the beginnings of one