Standard Lemma guide

slowdown

noun · 2 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.

  • General-American: /ˈsloʊˌdaʊn/
  • CMU ARPABET: S L OW1 D AW2 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, economic activity, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: retardation

Antonyms: ramp-up, speedup, speed-up

Broader terms: abatement, cutback, diminution, restriction

2

noun

Meaning 2

the act of slowing down or falling behind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lag, retardation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: delay, holdup

History

Etymology

Deverbal from slow down.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: забавяне (zabavjane) — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Chinese Mandarin: 減速 /减速 (jiǎnsù) — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Chinese Mandarin: 減緩 /减缓 (jiǎnhuǎn) — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Czech: zpomalení — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Finnish: hidastus — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Indonesian: kemunduran — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Indonesian: perlambatan — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Italian: rallentamento — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Malay: keperlahanan — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Portuguese: abrandamento — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.
  • Russian: замедле́ние (zamedlénije) — a reduction in speed, or a decrease in the level of production, etc.