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

How do you like to relax in your downtime?

From The Wall Street Journal

While alcohol isn’t good for you, one does wonder if we wouldn’t all be healthier if more men watched sports with friends in bars, using the downtime to talk instead of idly tap at screens.

From Salon

Thought she quit to record and tour with Butcher Babies, Harvey remained connected to the death industry, and during downtime from the band she worked as a grief therapist and end-of-life counselor.

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From BBC

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• free time
• spare time