doldrums
Americannoun
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a state of inactivity or stagnation, as in business or art.
August is a time of doldrums for many enterprises.
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the doldrums,
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a dull, listless, depressed mood; low spirits.
- Synonyms:
- dejection, melancholy, gloom, depression
noun
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a depressed or bored state of mind
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a state of inactivity or stagnation
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a belt of light winds or calms along the equator
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the weather conditions experienced in this belt, formerly a hazard to sailing vessels
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Etymology
Origin of doldrums
First recorded in 1795–1805; obsolete dold stupid ( dolt ) + -rum(s) (plural) noun suffix ( tantrum )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
WPP slashed dividends and said it would overhaul its operations, opening the door to selling some businesses, as new boss Cindy Rose outlined her plan to lift the U.K. advertising group out of the doldrums.
Yet while consumer sentiment has been in the doldrums since 2020, it has inched even lower in the past 12 months.
From Barron's
That suggests that until the broader AI questions can be answered, or at the very least better understood, stocks will struggle can escape their current spell in the doldrums.
From Barron's
But I hope Fennell, and other hedonistic filmmakers like her, get to keep whipping blockbusters out of their doldrums.
From Los Angeles Times
IPO market was in the relative doldrums for much of Grimes’s government stint, with few sizable technology offerings on the horizon.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
