build-downn.
/ˈbɪlddaʊn/ U.S. Military.
A systematic reduction of nuclear armaments, by destroying two or more for each new one deployed. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > gradual
wastinga1425
leakage1642
dwindle1779
dwindling1884
rundown1890
diminuendo1891
phase-down1958
wind-down1969
tail-off1975
build-down1983
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > decreasing gradually
ebbing1607
running-down1637
dwindling1664
build-down1983
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > play at cards [verb (intransitive)] > actions or tactics
pass1599
pluck1606
pulla1625
to play high1640
to follow suit1643
to play at forsat1674
lead1677
overdrawc1805
stand1813
retract1823
underplay1850
to hold up1879
to throw in one's hand1893
build1901
build-down1983
1983 N.Y. Times 22 Mar. 25 a/2 The reaction to the build-down concept has been gratifying.
1983 N.Y. Times 3 Oct. a1 This plan, referred to as a ‘build down’, was offered originally by Senators William S. Cohen..and Sam Nunn... Under their proposal, every time a new land-based warhead was deployed, two older ones would have to be destroyed.
1983 Economist 15 Oct. 48 (heading) Catholics and Lutherans: a theological build-down.
1984 Miami Herald 27 Mar. 12 a/3 Hart..has backed the so-called ‘build-down’ plan, opposed by many nuclear freeze advocates, which would mothball two nuclear weapons for every one deployed. He abandoned this idea, however.
1985 New Yorker 18 Mar. 39/3 You can sit here with your finger on the pulse and say ‘I like it’—and I really did like ‘build-down’—and then it's gone.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1989; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1983