let down
Britishverb
-
(also preposition) to lower
-
to fail to fulfil the expectations of (a person); disappoint
-
to undo, shorten, and resew (the hem) so as to lengthen (a dress, skirt, etc)
-
to untie (long hair that is bound up) and allow to fall loose
-
to deflate
to let down a tyre
noun
-
a disappointment
-
the gliding descent of an aircraft in preparation for landing
-
the release of milk from the mammary glands following stimulation by the hormone oxytocin
-
Cause to descend, lower, as in They let down the sails . [Mid-1100s]
-
Also, let up . Slacken, abate, as in Sales are letting down in this quarter , or They didn't let up in their efforts until the end . The first term dates from the mid-1800s, the variant from the late 1700s.
-
See let someone down . Also see let one's hair down .
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.