downtimen.
/ˈdaʊntʌɪm/, U.S. /ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/ 1. A period or occasion when something (such as a machine, factory, computer system, etc.) is out of operation or unavailable for use, or when normal work, activity, or productivity ceases or is less intense. Cf. uptime n.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > [noun] > time when functioning > not
downtime1940
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > cessation of operation > time of
downtime1940
1940 Electr. World 6 Apr. 97/1 (advt.) Fewer hours lost in ‘down-time’.
1954 Jrnl. Assoc. Computing Machinery 1 194 (table) Number of unscheduled down times.
1972 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 20 Feb. 8/7 Scientific Wear Analysis can save you thousands of dollars in machine downtime and repairs.
1983 Belle (Austral.) July 102/2 Resulting downtime on the tufting machines enabled Bremworth to service and innovate its carpet-producing equipment.
2012 Economist 1 Dec. 18/2 An hour of downtime for a single mining vehicle costs about $57,000 in lost production.
2016 Irish Times 18 Nov. c14/1 These are applications which, according to its developers, ‘run as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third-party interference’.
2. A period of rest or leisure time; time off.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > [noun] > time off
remedyc1450
intermission?1566
vacancy1599
by-time1609
off-duty1844
watch below, off1850
stand easy1859
off time1866
time off1881
lay-off1889
make and mend1899
laze-off1924
R and R1952
downtime1971
me time1980
1971 Harper's Mag. Aug. 43 A doodle by a sometime Hollywood producer on a downtime afternoon.
1982 Observer 6 June 9/4 Mr Reagan will have ‘downtime’ (a rest) after lunch.
1985 Eng. Today Oct. 4/2 It is possible to hear people talk of ‘enjoying the down-time’ when they are having a break.
2017 City Messenger (Adelaide) (Nexis) 12 July (City ed.) 11 That's like my downtime, because I listen to heaps of new stuff all the time for work.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1940