to disappoint people by doing something badly or by doing something which people do not approve of
let your hair down
to relax and enjoy yourself, without worrying about behaving politely
let one's hair down
to behave without reserve
to let the side down
If you say that someone has let the side down , you mean that they have embarrassed their family or friends by behaving badly or not doing well at something.
to let your hair down
If you let your hair down , you relax completely and enjoy yourself.
lower/drop your guard, let your guard down
If you lower your guard , let your guard down or drop your guard , you relax when you should be careful and alert , often with unpleasant consequences .
All related terms of 'let down'
to let one's hair down
( fig ) 放松(鬆)一点(點) fàngsōng yīdiǎn
let up
( cease ) 停止 tíngzhǐ ⇒ We thought the rain would let up soon. → 我们觉得雨不久会停。 Wǒmen juéde yǔ bùjiǔ huì tíng.
let out
( water, air, breath ) 放掉 fàngdiào
let on
▶ not to let on that ... 不泄(洩)露出去 ... bù xièlòu chūqù ...
let off
( culprit ) 放过(過) fàngguò ⇒ He let me off with a warning. → 他给我一个警告就放过我了。 Tā gěi wǒ yī gè jǐnggào jiù fàngguò wǒ le.
let in
( water, air ) 允许(許)进(進)来(來) yǔnxǔ jìnlái
let down
1. phrasal verb
If you let someone down, you disappoint them, by not doing something that you have said you will do or that they expected you to do.
Don't worry, Xiao, I won't let you down. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
When such advisers fail in their duty, they let down the whole system. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
let downadjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
The company now has a large number of workers who feel badly let down.
2. phrasal verb
If something lets you down, it is the reason you are not as successful as you could have been.
Many believe it was his shyness and insecurity which let him down. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
Sadly, the film is let down by an excessively simple plot. [beVERB-ed PARTICLE]
[Also VERBPARTICLE noun]
3. phrasal verb
If you let down something such as a tyre, you allow air to escape from it.
[mainly British]
I let the tyres down on his car. [VERB noun PARTICLE]
Remove wheelnuts, let down tyre, put on spare. [VERBPARTICLE noun]
See full dictionary entry for let
let-down
also letdown
Word forms: plural let-downs
variable noun
A let-down is a disappointment that you suffer, usually because something has not happened in the way in which you expected it to happen.
The flat was nice, but compared with what we'd been used to, it was a terrible let-down.
At the end of the book, there's a sense of let-down for the reader.
let down in British English
verb(tr, mainly adverb)
1. (also preposition)
to lower
2.
to fail to fulfil the expectations of (a person); disappoint
3.
to undo, shorten, and resew (the hem) so as to lengthen (a dress, skirt, etc)
4.
to untie (long hair that is bound up) and allow to fall loose
5.
to deflate
to let down a tyre
nounletdown
6.
a disappointment
7.
the gliding descent of an aircraft in preparation for landing
8.
the release of milk from the mammary glands following stimulation by the hormone oxytocin
let down in American English
1.
to lower
2.
to slow up; relax; slacken
3.
to disappoint or fail
See full dictionary entry for let
Examples of 'let down' in a sentence
let down
Lying with his head in her lap, Will was relaxed enough to let down some of his defences, to trust her with an occasional truth.
Penman, Sharon HERE BE DRAGONS
Got let down by a colleague of mine, who turns out to have too many fish to fry.
Richard Francis PROSPECT HILL (2003)
And they'll stand anything, even murder, from the person who props them up, except being let down themselves.
Ferrars, Elizabeth MURDER MOVES IN
I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd somehow let down Will by telling everything I knew about that night.
Jefferson Parker SILENT JOE (2002)
In other languages
let down
British English: let down /lɛt daʊn/ VERB
If you let someone down, you disappoint them, usually by not doing something that you said you would do.
Don't worry, I won't let you down.
American English: let down
Arabic: يَتخَلَّى عَنْ
Brazilian Portuguese: decepcionar
Chinese: 辜负
Croatian: iznevjeriti
Czech: zklamat
Danish: svigte
Dutch: teleurstellen
European Spanish: defraudar
Finnish: tuottaa pettymys
French: laisser tomber personne
German: enttäuschen
Greek: απογοητεύω
Italian: deludere
Japanese: がっかりさせる
Korean: 실망시키다
Norwegian: svikte
Polish: spuścić
European Portuguese: dececionar
Romanian: a dezamăgi
Russian: подвести
Latin American Spanish: defraudar
Swedish: göra besviken
Thai: ทำให้ผิดหวัง
Turkish: hayal kırıklığına uğratmak
Ukrainian: розчаровувати
Vietnamese: làm thất vọng
Chinese translation of 'let down'
let down
vt
(= fail)[person]令 ... 失望 (lìng ... shīwàng)
⇒ Charlie's never let me down yet.查理从来没有令我失望过。 (Chálǐ cónglái méiyǒu lìng wǒ shīwàng guo.)