downtime
Americannoun
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downtimes
plural
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a time during a regular working period when an employee is not actively productive.
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an interval during which a machine is not productive, as during repair, malfunction, maintenance.
noun
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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
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informal time spent not working; spare time
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of downtime
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It’s also big enough for basketball games, and Brundo recently painted a full court on the asphalt so singer The Weeknd could play ball during downtime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Chinese officials had asked the U.S. to build more downtime into Xi’s visit, including a private room inside the West Wing where the 73-year-old leader could rest with only his wife.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
But the combat happens in short spurts, allowing a fair amount of downtime for recuperation, conversation and enjoyment of the sport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
He said it had reduced Llanwern's UK market to just 25% and meant that workers were having a lot of downtime with production lines that are not constantly running.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
During downtime, Stamey and de la O talked about their homes and families, girls and sports.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
“We’re going to see a traffic jam of patch releases and system downtimes as companies try to apply these patches.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
But toy sales tend to be resilient in downtimes because parents do not want to disappoint their children, said Linda Bolton Weiser, an analyst with D.A.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2022
Naturally enough, I’ve been assembling a pile of books to relax with during the downtimes when I won’t be working on a Major Writing Project that is — sigh — at least three years overdue.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 15, 2022
Since March 14, production has been at a standstill at its truck plants in Munich and Krakow, and it has seen significant production downtimes in Nuremberg, Salzgitter and Wittlich, MAN said.
From Reuters ● Mar. 30, 2022
He’s shorthanded because only three of the 12 servers he laid off during the downtimes have returned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2021
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