downtime

noun

down·​time ˈdau̇n-ˌtīm 

1

: time during which production is stopped especially during setup for an operation or when making repairs

2

: inactive time (such as time between periods of work)

napping during our downtime

an injured athlete facing months of downtime

Synonyms

• layoff
• time-out
• winter

Examples of downtime in a Sentence

After a busy day at work, I look forward to some downtime at home.

The kids napped during their downtime.

We need to minimize network downtime.

Recent Examples on the Web

Products such as Microsoft’s Factory Operations Agent are designed specifically for manufacturers to help track defective issues, downtime, or excess energy consumption. —Gene Marks, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025

The only downtime or sad time that occurred was when Leonard's health started to fail. —Esther Kang, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025

Kevin Willard spends his downtime scouring college basketball’s various rankings, metrics and polls. —Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2025

Each hour of server downtime will be compensated with 60 Stellar Jades, so 300 Jades are on the table in total. —Mark Joseph, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for downtime

• airtime
• bedtime
• daytime
• enzyme
• halftime
• lifetime
• longtime
• lunchtime
• mealtime
• meantime
• nighttime
• noontime