letdownとは意味・読み方・使い方

名詞

letdown (複数形 letdowns)

1. Disappointment, the sad state of not living up to expectations.

   It's such a letdown, I thought it was going to be better than this.

動詞

let down (三人称単数 現在形 lets down, 現在分詞 letting down, 過去形および過去分詞形 let down)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see let,‎ down.
2. (transitive) To allow to descend.

   They let down the rope and I fastened it to the basket.

3. (transitive, idiomatic) To disappoint; to betray or fail somebody

   I promised him I would meet him there, and I will not let him down.

   • 1978, Nixon, Richard, “The Presidency 1973-1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon‎^[1], Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, LCCN 77-87793, OCLC 760525066, OL 7561812M, page 1065:

     Just as they left, the younger of the two turned around and said, "Mr. President, I just want you to know that we're praying for you," and quickly closed the door behind him.
     I thought about these two men, and about the office workers that afternoon, and about the millions of others like them all across the country who still had faith in me. I knew that by resigning I would let them down.

   • 1982, The English Beat (lyrics かつ music), “Save It for Later”, in Special Beat Service:

     Sooner or later / You hit the deck, you get found out / Save it for later / Don't run away and let me down

4. (transitive, of clothing) To lengthen by undoing and resewing a hem.
5. (intransitive) To reduce one's level of effort.
6. To soften in tempering.

   to let down tools or cutlery

派生語

• let one's hair down
• let someone down gently

関連する語

• let-down (noun) and letdown

語源

From the verb phrase let down.

発音

• (英国発音) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtdaʊn/

名詞

let-down (countable かつ uncountable, 複数形 let-downs)

1. (countable) A disappointment or anticlimax.

   After seeing all the advertisements, the show itself was quite a let-down.

2. (countable, uncountable) The neurohormonal release of milk in dairy cows or in breastfeeding human mothers.
   • 1990, WJA Payne, An Introduction to Animal Husbandry in the Tropics:

     The majority of peasant farmers in the tropics allow the calf to suckle before milking in order to obtain a let-down of milk.

   • 2004, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (7th edition), Penguin 2004, p. 54:

     Occasionally a baby will be caught off-guard by mother's strong let-down and he will choke and sputter a bit.

   • 2010, Jan Riordan & Karen Wamback, Breastfeeding and Human Lactation (4th edition), Jones & Bartlett 2010, p. 91:

     Through oxytocin mediation, these afferent pathways become so well established that letdown can occur even when the mother merely thinks of her baby.

3. (aviation) The clearance of an aircraft to descend through clouds to clear air below, or the process of granting such a clearance.

   The flight received a radar letdown from air traffic control.