slump
noun
- geological term for a type of small-scale land motion
- period of subpar performance in sports
- period of economic decline
- type of baked dish (cobbler)
verb
- decline
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /slʌmp/
noun
Etymology: Probably of North Germanic origin: compare Danish slumpe (“to stumble upon by chance”), Norwegian slumpe (“happen by chance”), Norwegian slumpa (“happen by chance”), Swedish slumpa (“randomize; to sell off”), Swedish slump (“chance, randomness, happenstance”). Compare also German schlumpen (“to trail; draggle; be sloppy”), dialectal Dutch slompen (“to walk clumsily”).
- A heavy or helpless collapse; a slouching or drooping posture; a period of poor activity or performance, especially an extended period.
- A heavy or helpless collapse; a slouching or drooping posture; a period of poor activity or performance, especially an extended period.
“TOM. We haven't had sex with each other in five months. MICHAEL. We're in a slump, I know that."”
- A period of poor performance.
“If she doesn't pull out of her slump, her job may be in jeopardy.”
- 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.
- A form of mass wasting in which a coherent mass of loosely consolidated materials or a rock layer moves a short distance down a slope.
- A crater or depression (an area where the ground slumps) which forms as a result of such wasting. (A large crater is colloquially called a megaslump.)
“The biggest slump in the world - a mega-slump - is in the Russian taiga. Known as the Batagaika crater, it is a kilometre-long gash in the ground, about 70 metres deep, and growing[…]”
- A boggy place.
“The road was all slumps of holes.”
“It was neither seemly nor befitting that so great an occasion should have its solemnity defaced by leaping-poles or four hands crossed cradlewise to convey the bridal finery over “slump” or “quakkin'-qua[g]”!”
- The noise made by anything falling into a hole, or into a soft, miry place.
- The gross amount; the mass; the lump.
- A cobbler-like dessert cooked on a stove.
“a blackberry slump”
verb
Etymology: Probably of North Germanic origin: compare Danish slumpe (“to stumble upon by chance”), Norwegian slumpe (“happen by chance”), Norwegian slumpa (“happen by chance”), Swedish slumpa (“randomize; to sell off”), Swedish slump (“chance, randomness, happenstance”). Compare also German schlumpen (“to trail; draggle; be sloppy”), dialectal Dutch slompen (“to walk clumsily”).
- To collapse heavily or helplessly.
“Exhausted, he slumped down onto the sofa.”
““Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.[…]””
- 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.”
- To slouch or droop.
- To lump; to throw together messily.
“These different groups[…]are exclusively slumped together under that sense.”
- To fall or sink suddenly through or in, when walking on a surface, as on thawing snow or ice, a bog, etc.
“The latter walk on a bottomless quag, into which unawares they may slump.”
- To cause to collapse; to hit hard; to render unconscious; to kill.