downtime

American  

[doun-tahym] / ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm /

noun

1. a time times during a regular working period when an employee is not actively productive.

2. an interval during which a machine is not productive, as during repair, malfunction, maintenance.

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downtime British  

/ ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm /

noun

1. commerce time during which a machine or plant is not working because it is incapable of production, as when under repair: the term is sometimes used to include all nonproductive time Compare idle time

2. informal time spent not working; spare time

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Etymology

Origin of downtime

First recorded in 1925–30; down ¹ + time

Example Sentences

The Navy acknowledged there had been some issues, citing the vessel's leadership as saying "clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime".

From BBC

The Navy acknowledged the reports of toilet problems in a statement last month, but cited ship leadership as saying that "clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime."

From Barron's

It’s a big jump, but February 2025 sales data were impacted by plant downtime to upgrade equipment for an updated Model Y.

From Barron's

A plant in Athens that produces home-care products was plagued by downtime, with production idled for days, when manufacturing equipment broke because manuals were in German, French and English.

From The Wall Street Journal

Since national defense cannot tolerate downtime, readiness spending tends to persist even when procurement ebbs.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• free time
• spare time