letdown

or let-down

[ let-doun ]
/ ˈlɛtˌdaʊn /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR letdown ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a decrease in volume, force, energy, etc.: a letdown in sales; a general letdown of social barriers.
disillusionment, discouragement, or disappointment: The job was a letdown.
depression; deflation: He felt a terrible letdown at the end of the play.
the accelerated movement of milk into the mammary glands of lactating mammals upon stimulation, as by massage or suckling.
Aeronautics. the descent of an aircraft from a higher to a lower altitude preparatory to making an approach and landing or to making a target run or the like.

Origin of letdown

First recorded in 1760–70; noun use of verb phrase let down

Words nearby letdown

let, let alone, let be, let bygones be bygones, let daylight through or into, letdown, let down easy, let down one's hair, let drop, let fly, let go

Definition for let down (2 of 2)

Origin of let

1
before 900; Middle English leten, Old English lǣtan; cognate with Dutch laten, German lassen, Old Norse lāta, Gothic lētan; akin to Greek lēdeîn to be weary, Latin lassus tired. See late

synonym study for let

1. See allow.

usage note for let

Let us is used in all varieties of speech and writing to introduce a suggestion or a request: Let us consider all the facts before deciding. The contracted form let's occurs mostly in informal speech and writing: Let's go. Let's not think about that right now. Perhaps because let's has come to be felt as a word in its own right rather than as the contraction of let us, it is often followed in informal speech and writing by redundant or appositional pronouns: Let's us plan a picnic. Let's you and I (or me ) get together tomorrow. Both Let's you and me and Let's you and I occur in the relaxed speech of educated speakers. The former conforms to the traditional rules of grammar; the latter, nonetheless, occurs more frequently. See also leave1.

Words related to let down

abandon, depress, disillusion, dissatisfy, fail, lower, disenchant

British Dictionary definitions for let down (1 of 3)

let down

verb (tr, mainly adverb)

noun letdown

British Dictionary definitions for let down (2 of 3)

let 1
/ (lɛt) /

verb lets, letting or let (tr; usually takes an infinitive without to or an implied infinitive)

noun

British the act of letting property or accommodation the majority of new lets are covered by the rent regulations
See also let down, let in, let into, let off, let on, let out, let through, let up

Word Origin for let

Old English lǣtan to permit; related to Gothic lētan, German lassen

British Dictionary definitions for let down (3 of 3)

let 2
/ (lɛt) /

noun

an impediment or obstruction (esp in the phrase without let or hindrance)
tennis squash
  1. a minor infringement or obstruction of the ball, requiring a point to be replayed
  2. the point so replayed

verb lets, letting, letted or let

(tr) archaic to hinder; impede

Word Origin for let

Old English lettan to hinder, from læt late; related to Old Norse letja

Idioms and Phrases with let down (1 of 2)

let down
1

Cause to descend, lower, as in They let down the sails. [Mid-1100s]

2

Also, let up. Slacken, abate, as in Sales are letting down in this quarter, or They didn't let up in their efforts until the end. The first term dates from the mid-1800s, the variant from the late 1700s.

3

See let someone down. Also see let one's hair down.

Idioms and Phrases with let down (2 of 2)

let