downtick

noun

down·​tick ˈdau̇n-ˌtik 

plural downticks

1

: a small decrease, decline, or downward trend

Pennsylvania saw a slight increase in traffic-related fatalities last year despite a national downtick, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

—Megan Tomasic

Any downtick in the ever-expanding economy is likely to make commercial real estate lenders nervous about financing new projects …

—Dane Huffman

2

finance : a stock market transaction at a price below the last previous transaction in the same security

… the New York Stock Exchange forbids short sales on stocks whose last trade was lower than the previous trade. However, that rule, widely cited by journalists as an absolute proscription on shorting on a downtick, only applies to NYSE stocks.

—Thomas Lepri

compare uptick sense 2

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Africa’s elephant population is in need of critical support now more than ever in the wake of the coronavirus, where a downtick in tourism and travel has left elephants and their natural habitats increasingly vulnerable to exploitation. —Rachel Besser, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2020

Bird surveys have repeatedly shown a mysterious trend of a population downtick in areas of cicada emergence. —Madeline Bodin, Discover Magazine, 18 June 2013

Perhaps July's downtick in inflation and the drop in gas prices will register before the midterm elections, or perhaps not. —Drew Westen, CNN, 11 Aug. 2022

Official data for 2022 is not yet available, but a recent compilation of national data by The New York Times found a slight downtick in the murder rate this year of about 3%. —Story Hinckley, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2022

Last season, O’Neale’s defense faltered somewhat, leading to a downtick in minutes for the first time in his NBA career. —Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 June 2022

Northeastern cities such as New York or Philadelphia, meanwhile, are seeing a downtick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations after a rise, though transmission is still high, according to the CDC. —Caroline Catherman, Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2022

After a downtick in 2019 from the record 178 homicides in 2018, the number of homicides surged to 245 in 2020. —Lawrence Andrea, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Nov. 2021

The levels for the southern system saw a tiny downtick in the most recent day’s data. —BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2021

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Word History

Etymology

down entry 4 + tick entry 1

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at sense 1