slump

Etymology

Probably of North Germanic origin: compare Danish slumpe (“to stumble upon by chance”), Norwegian slumpe (“happen by chance”), Swedish slumpa (“to sell off”). Compare also German schlumpen (“to trail; draggle; be sloppy”).

verb

  1. (intransitive) To collapse heavily or helplessly.
    Exhausted, he slumped down onto the sofa.
  2. (intransitive) To decline or fall off in activity or performance.
    Real estate prices slumped during the recession.
    The Gunners captain demonstrated his importance to the team by taking his tally to an outstanding 28 goals in 27 Premier League games as Chelsea slumped again after their shock defeat at QPR last week. October 29, 2011, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport
    But in the week ending December 6, usage slumped from 72% of pre-pandemic numbers to just 56%, following revised advice that we should work from home again. December 29 2021, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Problems galore in 2021...”, in RAIL, number 947, page 3
  3. (intransitive) To slouch or droop.
  4. (transitive) To lump; to throw together messily.
  5. To fall or sink suddenly through or in, when walking on a surface, as on thawing snow or ice, a bog, etc.
  6. (transitive, slang) To cause to collapse; to hit hard; to render unsconscious; to kill.

noun

  1. A heavy or helpless collapse; a slouching or drooping posture; a period of poor activity or performance, especially an extended period.
    1. (slang by extension) A period when a person goes without the expected amount of sex or dating.
      TOM. We haven't had sex with each other in five months. MICHAEL. We're in a slump, I know that." 2004, Jonathan Tolins, The Last Sunday in June
  2. A measure of the fluidity of freshly mixed concrete, based on how much the concrete formed in a standard slump cone sags when the cone is removed.
  3. (UK, dialect) A boggy place.
  4. (Scotland) The noise made by anything falling into a hole, or into a soft, miry place.
  5. (Scotland) The gross amount; the mass; the lump.
  6. A cobbler-like dessert cooked on a stove.
    a blackberry slump

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