a time during a regular working period when an employee is not actively productive.
an interval during which a machine is not productive, as during repair, malfunction, maintenance.
Also called dead time.
Origin of downtime
First recorded in 1925–30; down1 + time
Words nearby downtime
down the pike, down the road, down the tubes, downthrow, downtick, downtime, down to, down-to-earth, down to size, down to the ground, down to the wire
Is it becoming part of the SNL contract that you do voices for this show in your downtime?
'SNL' Star Kate McKinnon's Big, 'Awesome,' Emmy-Nominated Year|Kevin Fallon|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Did you two engage in any hobbies or games together in your downtime?
‘Game of Thrones’ Star Maisie Williams on Arya Stark’s S4 Journey and Her Crush on Andrew Garfield|Marlow Stern|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After discussing the downtime with my husband and employer, I resolved to advocate for myself.
A New Hysterectomy Procedure Eliminates Massive Scarring and Long Recovery Time. So Why Aren’t More Doctors On Board?|Heather Wilson|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Uber is a boon to professional car-service drivers, who tend to have a lot of downtime between jobs.
Stop Whining About Uber’s Surge Pricing|Daniel Gross|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Uber provides him with work during what used to be downtime.
Stop Whining About Uber’s Surge Pricing|Daniel Gross|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Only the card reader has had any downtime of consequence, and modifications seem to have resolved its problems.
On-Line Data-Acquisition Systems in Nuclear Physics, 1969|H. W. Fulbright et al.
British Dictionary definitions for downtime
downtime
/ (ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm) /
noun
commercetime during which a machine or plant is not working because it is incapable of production, as when under repair: the term is sometimes used to include all nonproductive timeCompare idle time