/ dɪˈpreʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ U ] a medical condition in which a person feels very sad and anxious and often has physical symptoms such as being unable to sleep, etc. :
clinical depression
She suffered from severe depression after losing her job.
—see also post-natal depression , post-partum depression
2.
[ U , C ] the state of feeling very sad and without hope :
There was a feeling of gloom and depression in the office when the news of the job cuts was announced.
3.
[ C , U ] a period when there is little economic activity and many people are poor or without jobs :
The country was in the grip of (an) economic depression.
the great Depression of the 1930s
4.
[ C ] ( formal ) a part of a surface that is lower than the parts around it
SYN hollow :
Rainwater collects in shallow depressions on the ground.
5.
[ C ] ( technical ) a weather condition in which the pressure of the air becomes lower, often causing rain
—compare anticyclone
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin depressio(n-) , from deprimere press down.