downtime

noun

down·​time ˈdau̇n-ˌtīm 

1

: time during which production is stopped especially during setup for an operation or when making repairs

2

: inactive time (such as time between periods of work)

napping during our downtime

an injured athlete facing months of downtime

Synonyms

• layoff
• time-out
• winter

Examples of downtime in a Sentence

After a busy day at work, I look forward to some downtime at home.

The kids napped during their downtime.

We need to minimize network downtime.

Recent Examples on the Web

The downtime necessary to roll out the update is scheduled to begin at 2 a.m. Eastern time. —Dan Cody, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

These are our best Mother's Day gift ideas to help moms work from home, annotate their books, or dip into the world of gaming in their downtime. —Adrienne So, Wired News, 1 May 2025

Empower clinicians with the ability to document electronically during an outage rather than relying on downtime forms documentation. —David Chou, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025

The time off should help With the Knicks-Pistons series still undecided (Game 6 is Thursday night in Detroit), the Celtics will get to enjoy nearly a full week of downtime before the East semis tip off. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for downtime

• airtime
• bedtime
• daytime
• enzyme
• halftime
• lifetime
• longtime
• lunchtime
• mealtime
• meantime
• nighttime
• noontime