Dictionary

downtime en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/ (General-American)
• /ˈdaʊntaɪm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Time lost due to the failure of some system or machinery, such as a computer crash or power outage.
   • A short internet outage might sound like a trifling matter – don’t we all need a little bit of time offline now and then? – but for many, the pervasiveness of the so-called “internet of things” meant downtime at Amazon affected their physical life as well as their digital one. 2017 March 1, Alex Hern, “How did an Amazon glitch leave people literally in the dark?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 May 2023:
2. (countable, uncountable) A period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops.
   • As the world turns inward, trapped inside in various stages of pandemic quarantine, numerous songwriting luminaries (often blessed with their own in-home studios) have tried to use the downtime creatively—from Millennial stars like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande to longtime veterans like Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. 2020 November 9, Gwen Ihnat, “With McCartney III, Paul McCartney Offers Lessons from a Legendary Life”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 07 Nov 2022:
3. (Canada, US, countable, uncountable) A period of time set aside for relaxation and rest; leisure time, free time.
   • ‘We need to use the downtime, when things are calm, to prepare for when things get serious in the decades to come,’ he [Demis Hassabis] has said. ‘The time we have now is valuable, and we need to make use of it.’ 2021 March 19, James Fallows, “Can humans be replaced by machines?”, in The New York Times Book Review, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 May 2023:
   • I’ve been working all weekend. I need some downtime.
   • But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas. 2010 August 24, Matt Richtel, “Digital devices deprive brain of needed downtime”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 May 2023:

Forms

Antonyms

uptime

Coordinates

idle time

Translations (40)

ar فترة التعطيل (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fi käyttökatko (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · it tempo di fermo (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · hu meghibásodási idő (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fi häiriöaika (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · hu holtidő (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · ru просто́й (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · de Ausfallzeit (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · bg престо́й (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · ko 다운타임 (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fa زمان اکار (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · es tiempo inactivo (period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops) · hu állásidő (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · es tiempo muerto (period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops) · fr pause (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · ja ダウンタイム (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · hu állási idő (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · da nedetid (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · it tempo passivo (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · sv nertid (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fi rauhallisempi aika (period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops) · sah боростуой (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · pl przestój (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · mi wākarioi (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · nn nedetid (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fi seisokkiaika (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · hu kiesési időtartam (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · sv avbrottstid (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fr repos (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · ru вре́мя просто́я (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · mk за́стој (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fr temps d'arrêt (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · hu üzemszünet (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fr taux d'indisponibilité (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · fi keskeytysaika (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · de Downtime (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · nb nedetid (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · nl downtime (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · it tempo di riposo (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control) · cmn 停機時間 /停机时间 (amount of time lost due to forces beyond one’s control)