countdown

Etymology

It is formed from English count + down,^[2][3][4] as a noun use of the verb phrase count down.^[5][6] Etymonline calls it originally American English and dates the verb phrase to 1954, a year after the noun;^[4] Dictionary.com also marks it as an Americanism, of 1950–55.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of counting backwards to zero, usually in seconds, to mark the time left before an explosion or the launch of a missile: 1953, in the News of Birmingham, Alabama.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to about 1952.^[7][6]

Semantic evolution

In early use the word referred especially to the launches of rockets and missiles.^[4] It soon also covered the checks and preparations carried out during the count, and the length of time the count takes.^[4][8][6] A transferred and figurative use, for any period leading up to an expected event, is recorded from 1959.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1952 – first known use, according to Merriam-Webster.^[6][7]
• 1953 – counting backwards to zero before an explosion or a launch.^[2][4]
• 1954 – the verb phrase count down.^[4]
• 1959 – transferred and figurative uses.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A counting backwards aloud, in fixed units such as seconds, from a chosen number to zero, to mark the time left before an event such as the launch of a rocket.^[8][6][2]
2. The checks and preparations carried out during such a count, or the period it takes.^[8][6][3]
3. Any period leading up to an expected event: The countdown to the festival has started.^[2][3]

Related words

• count
• down

Usage notes

According to Hendrickson, the backward count before a launch was devised by the film director Fritz Lang for his science-fiction film The Lady in the Moon, to heighten the suspense, and he even credits Lang with the word;^[9] Cassell's dictionary repeats the story, naming the 1928 film Frau im Mond.^[10] The dictionaries record the word itself only from the early 1950s.^[2][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
10. ^ Cassell's Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, London: Cassell