/ slʌmp; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb [ v ]
1.
slump (by sth) | slump (from sth) (to sth) to fall in price, value, number, etc., suddenly and by a large amount
SYN drop :
Sales have slumped this year.
Profits slumped by over 50%.
The paper's circulation has slumped to 90 000.
2.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to sit or fall down heavily :
The old man slumped down in his chair.
She slumped to her knees.
■ noun
1.
slump (in sth) a sudden fall in sales, prices, the value of sth, etc.
SYN decline :
a slump in profits
2.
a period when a country's economy or a business is doing very badly :
the slump of the 1930s
The toy industry is in a slump.
—compare boom noun (1)
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WORD ORIGIN
late 17th cent. (in the sense fall into a bog ): probably imitative and related to Norwegian slumpe to fall.