as in winters
a period of often involuntary inactivity or idleness
a knee operation that could result in months of downtime for the ski racer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of downtimes
The average response time for phone calls dropped to 6 minutes from 30 minutes in the prior fiscal year; field office wait times decreased to 23 minutes; and removal of online service downtimes has benefited an additional 125,000 users in a single week, according to the agency's findings.
—
Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downtimes
Noun
-
The state also experienced one of its warmest winters on record, contributing to one of the worst mid-winter snowpacks in decades.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
For example, rats can be found in countless places that experience bitter winters.—
Jason Bittel,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The layoffs come after the school’s board voted in March to consolidate its Lincoln high school program into the Roseville campus, which will send as many as 120 students 10 miles south to stay with the academy.—
Nicole Buss,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
While more than 111 layoffs were initially planned in February, that number decreased as workers were transferred, the spokesperson said.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Fueled on coffee and with breaks for lunch and dinner, the two men signed more than 15,000, maybe even upwards of 20,000 comics, in a span of four days under the watchful eyes of reps for a signing and grading company charged with handling the comics.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Venture out beyond the square, and the small-town USA illusion breaks.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Referring to the decline in permits approved, ECMC Director Julie Murphy said there were lulls as everyone adjusted course.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Acting in a movie involves a lot of waiting around, too—as the crew repositions cameras and adjusts the lighting, among other things—and those lulls provided me with plenty of time to feel queasy with anxiety.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Experts attribute the interruptions to supply chain disruptions and a surge in demand, tied in part to panic buying.—
April 2,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The human costs of grant uncertainty While interruptions to grant funding slow scientific progress, there is an immediate real-world human cost to the upheaval.—
Nara Parameswaran,
The Conversation,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Downtimes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downtimes. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
