a letdown in sales; a general letdown of social barriers.
2.
disillusionment, discouragement, or disappointment:
The job was a letdown.
3.
depression; deflation:
He felt a terrible letdown at the end of the play.
4.
the accelerated movement of milk into the mammary glands of lactating mammals upon stimulation, as by massage or suckling.
5.
Aeronautics. the descent of an aircraft from a higher to a lower altitude preparatory to making an approach and landing or to making a target run or the like.
Also, let-down.
Origin
1760-70; noun use of verb phrase let down
Examples from the web for letdown
Their romance fails to move past physical attraction, and that's more than a disappointment-it's a crippling letdown.
They were always a letdown-awkward seating and sparse accommodations.
Even when tenure is not traumatic, there can be a significant post-tenure letdown.
Despite the initial letdown, the book was incredibly helpful.
And later it was such a letdown when their results proved to be bogus.
It is quite a shameful letdown because he may have to perform the harakiri back in the olden days.
When the season ended, it was always a sharp letdown for the youngsters.
Yet the clanking suit, when it's finished, is a letdown.
Compared with the prelude, the hearing itself was a bit of a letdown.
There is no letdown in quality or range of experience, as you will see.
British Dictionary definitions for letdown
let down
verb (transitive, mainly adverb)
1.
(also preposition) to lower
2.
to fail to fulfil the expectations of (a person); disappoint
3.
to undo, shorten, and resew (the hem) so as to lengthen (a dress, skirt, etc)
4.
to untie (long hair that is bound up) and allow to fall loose
5.
to deflate: to let down a tyre
noun
6.
a disappointment
7.
the gliding descent of an aircraft in preparation for landing
8.
the release of milk from the mammary glands following stimulation by the hormone oxytocin
Word Origin and History for letdown
n.
also let-down, "disappointment," 1768, from let (v.) + down (adv.). The verbal phrase is from mid-12c. in a literal sense; figuratively by 1795.
Slang definitions & phrases for letdown
letdown
noun
A disappointment; comedown: Actually meeting him was something of a letdown(1889+)
The gradual descent of an airplane toward a landing (1945+)