downturn
/ˈdaʊntɝn/noun, verb
downturn is spelled D-O-W-N-T-U-R-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, downturn means “A downward trend, or the beginnings of one” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of downturn is downturns.
How many letters and syllables are in downturn?
| Letters | 8: D-O-W-N-T-U-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is downturn?
Downturn appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce downturn?
- UK /ˈdaʊntɜːn/
- US /ˈdaʊntɝn/
- Australia /ˈdæɔntɜːn/
Downturn has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-downturn.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with downturn
Also written: down-turn (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with downturn?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as downturn (/aʊntɜɹn/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: turndown.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of downturn
- downturns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- downturning participle, present
- downturned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does downturn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.
Near-synonym: decline
verb
- 1
To turn downwards.
- 2
To decline.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Downturn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a downward trend, or the beginnings of one:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does downturn come from?
From down- + turn.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).