downturn

Etymology

It is formed from English down- + turn.^[2][3] Dictionary.com takes it as a noun use of the verb phrase turn down.^[4] The verb downturn is formed from down- and the verb turn; the OED compares the earlier phrasal verb and downturned.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A downward turn of a physical movement or feature: 1658, in W. Percey's Compleat Swimmer.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The economic sense, a decline in business activity or a fall in a rate or value, is recorded by the OED from 1858, in the Daily Missouri Republican;^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date it to 1926,^[3][5] and Dictionary.com to 1925–30.^[4] It belongs to an old pattern of describing money and adversity in terms of direction, which the Historical Thesaurus traces to the 14th century.^[6] In phonetics a downturn is a fall in pitch (1955), the opposite of an upturn.^[2] The verb, to turn something downwards, is recorded from 1909; its use for an economy that declines, after the noun, from 1980.^[2]

Timeline

• 1658 – a downward turn.^[2]
• 1858 – a decline, especially in business or economic activity.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date this sense to 1926.^[3][5]
• 1909 – verb, to turn something downwards.^[2]
• 1955 – in phonetics, a fall in pitch.^[2]
• 1980 – verb, to experience a downturn.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A decline, especially in business or economic activity: a downturn in car sales.^[7][5][8][2]
2. A turning downward, or the state of being turned down.^[8][2]
3. In phonetics, a fall in pitch.^[2]

Verb

1. To decline, especially of business or the economy.^[2]
2. (rare) To turn something downwards; to fold down.^[2]

Related words

• upturn
• turn down
• down
• turn

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Mapping Metaphor with the Historical Thesaurus, University of Glasgow, mappingmetaphor.arts.gla.ac.uk
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster