Meaning & use
doldrums
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Meanings
nounusually pluralfigurative
A period when nothing seems to happen and people feel flat, bored or sad, or when business is slow.
Grammar: Almost always used as the doldrums and with in: the market is in the doldrums.
Patterns
- in the doldrums
- out of the doldrums
The housing market has been in the doldrums for months.
After her friends moved away, she spent the winter in the doldrums.
The band's career was in the doldrums until the new album.
nounpluraltechnical
The ocean region near the equator where winds are very light or absent, so that sailing ships could be stuck for days.
Grammar: Takes a plural verb and usually the: the doldrums were feared by sailors.
Patterns
- becalmed in the doldrums
The ship was becalmed in the doldrums for two weeks.
Sailors dreaded the doldrums, where the sails hung limp.
The doldrums lie near the equator, where trade winds meet.
Common combinations
- in the doldrums
- The economy remained in the doldrums all year.
- out of the doldrums
- A new coach helped the team climb out of the doldrums.
- mid-winter doldrums
- Many people suffer the mid-winter doldrums.
- summer doldrums
- Sales usually fall in the summer doldrums.
- escape the doldrums
- A trip abroad helped him escape the doldrums.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slump
- A slump is a sharp drop in performance or sales, while the doldrums describe a long, flat, motionless period.
- stagnation
- Stagnation is a formal term for a lack of growth or movement, whereas the doldrums also suggest low spirits.
- blues
- The blues is a feeling of sadness, whereas the doldrums can describe both a mood and a slow economy.
- rut
- A rut is a dull, fixed routine you are stuck in, while the doldrums suggest a quiet low point without much happening.
Opposites
Word family
- doldrum noun
- a rare singular form meaning the same thing
Commonly confused: doldrums or drums?
doldrums vs drums
The word ends in -drums but has nothing to do with the instrument; it names a slow, flat period or a calm sea region.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
The set phrase is in the doldrums, with the and the plural form. At, an and into do not form the usual expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “doldrums”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.