downtime

[doun-tahym]

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.

downtime

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of downtime¹

First recorded in 1925–30; down ¹ + time

Example Sentences

While many platforms such as the online games Roblox and Fortnite were back up and running within a few hours of the outage, some services experienced prolonged downtime.

Read more on BBC

Later in the day, Mauldin discovered that he couldn’t send coupons to new customers, because of downtime at another vendor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The dilemma Greene will eventually confront is that there’s no way to cast the presidency as a housewife’s hobby to be enjoyed in the downtime between dropping kids off at school and cleaning the stove.

Read more on Salon

In her downtime, she tries to think about what else, other than acting, she loved to do as a kid.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Big Bus Tour – If you travel like me, you have a packed itinerary with loads of fun, great food, and not a whole lot of downtime.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• free time www.thesaurus.com
• spare time