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

Examples of downtick in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The areas that have had significant rainfall from this month's monsoon storms have seen a slight downtick in the drought levels -- for example, parts of southwest and northwest Colorado have seen many areas drop from extreme to severe. — Dave Aguilera, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026

Malone, who was a vocal critic of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, did pin some blame on falling trust in the scientific establishment for the slight downtick in inoculations. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 19 Aug. 2026

The 2025 result was a slight downtick from peak support in 2023 of 70% support. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 9 May 2026

Even so, some analysts suggest that the war in the Gulf may not have a major impact on exports across the broader economy in the months to come, and instead cited seasonal distortions from the Chinese New Year holiday for the March downtick. — John Liu, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

down entry 4 + tick entry 1

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at sense 1