Down time or downtime?
down time is a noun meaning “Alternative form of downtime”; downtime is a noun meaning “Time lost due to the failure of some system or machinery, such as a computer…”. down time is written as two words and downtime as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between down time and downtime?
| down time | downtime | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Meaning | Alternative form of downtime | Time lost due to the failure of some system or machinery, such as a computer crash or power outage A period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops |
| Example | none recorded | I’ve been working all weekend. I need some downtime |
| Forms | down-times | downtimes |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈdaʊntaɪm/ /ˈdaʊnˌtaɪm/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 1.6 times per million words |
Sources: down time and downtime in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of down time and downtime
down time
- 1
Alternative form of downtime
- 2
Alternative form of downtime
downtime
- 1
Time lost due to the failure of some system or machinery, such as a computer crash or power outage
- 2
A period of time when work or other activity is less intense or stops
- 3
CanadaUSA period of time set aside for relaxation and rest; leisure time, free time
I’ve been working all weekend. I need some downtime
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, down time or downtime?
down time is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; downtime 1.6 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search down time vs downtime?
“down time vs downtime” is searched about 30 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“downtime vs down time”, “down time or downtime”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.