letdown

noun let·down \ ˈlet-ˌdau̇n \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of letdown

1 a : discouragement, disappointment

his latest novel is a letdown

b : a slackening of effort : relaxation

2 : the descent of an aircraft or spacecraft to the point at which a landing approach is begun

3 : a physiological response of a lactating mammal to suckling and allied stimuli whereby previously secreted milk from the acini is expelled into ducts and drawn through the nipple

See letdown defined for English-language learners

See letdown defined for kids

Examples of letdown in a Sentence

the museum exhibit was just so-so, and we returned home with a vague sense of letdown
the eagerly anticipated new movie starring our favorite actor turned out to be a big letdown

Recent Examples of letdown from the Web

While based on an intriguing true story, this supernatural thriller from January turned out to be a big letdown.

— chris ball, cleveland.com, "Diane Kruger stars in 'In the Fade,' now on DVD and Blu-ray (review)," 8 May 2018
Now, instead of a letdown or a lot of finger-pointing, many fans, and others, can't wait to see what the Pacers can do next season.

— dwight adams, Indianapolis Star, "How Pacers' Victor Oladipo is already moving past this Game 7 loss," 1 May 2018
Baltimore Orioles — The Orioles' offense ranks third to last in the major leagues, and one of the biggest letdowns has been Chris Davis.

— casey l moore, USA TODAY, "Biggest surprises -- good or bad -- one month into MLB season," 30 Apr. 2018
Parker hasn't been the only letdown off the bench, but he's been the most pronounced.

— matt velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Four things the Bucks must change quickly to keep their playoff hopes alive," 18 Apr. 2018
Webber had exceptional talent and big numbers, but there were far too many letdowns.

— bruce jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "Even without Stephen Curry, All-NBA first team is ridiculously talented," 14 Apr. 2018
Final Cut Pro doesn’t seem to utilize the eGPU That wasn't the only letdown.

— samuel axon, Ars Technica, "Are external GPUs for Macs viable in macOS 10.13.4? We tested to find out," 14 Apr. 2018
Just when Major League Soccer is on the brink of a historic achievement, the ghosts of previous letdowns appear to ruin everything once again.

— juan pimiento, chicagotribune.com, "Chivas stun Toronto FC, the Serie A race heats up and the best of the week in soccer," 19 Apr. 2018
For a couple of quarters, all of the elements of a letdown seemed to be in position.

— david murphy, Philly.com, "Sixers-Heat feels like a short series in NBA Playoffs | David Murphy," 14 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'letdown.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of letdown

1768

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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letdown Synonyms

let down

verb

Definition of let down

transitive verb

1 : to allow to descend gradually

2 a : to fail to support

felt her parents had let her down

b : disappoint

the plot lets you down at the end

afraid of letting his father down

See let down defined for kids

Examples of let down in a Sentence

with my poor performance I really felt that I had let my teammates down

First Known Use of let down

12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

let down Synonyms

Synonyms

cheat, disappoint, dissatisfy, fail;

Antonyms

content, gratify, satisfy;

Near Antonyms

fulfill (or fulfil);

gladden;

disenchant, disillusion;

deceive, delude, mock;

LETDOWN Defined for English Language Learners

letdown

noun

Definition of letdown for English Language Learners

: something that is not as good as it was expected to be

LETDOWN Defined for Kids

letdown

noun let·down \ ˈlet-ˌdau̇n \

Definition of letdown for Students

: disappointment 2

Medical Dictionary

letdown

noun \ ˈlet-ˌdau̇n \

medical Definition of letdown

: a physiological response of a lactating mammal to suckling and allied stimuli whereby increased intramammary pressure forces previously secreted milk from the acini and finer tubules into the main collecting ducts from where it can be drawn through the nipple