let down meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

let-down

nounalso spelled let-down

UK /ˈlɛtdaʊn/

Etymology Deverbal from let down.

A disappointment or anticlimax.

After seeing all the advertisements, the show itself was quite a let-down.
Journalists aside, are we so used to people looking glossier and younger in their profile photos—whether on social media or for work—that a certain percentage of “let-down” is baked into our expectations of meeting them in person?2023 November 25, Rebecca Rose, “How old is too old for a profile pic?”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 22:

The neurohormonal release of milk in dairy cows or in breastfeeding human mothers.

The majority of peasant farmers in the tropics allow the calf to suckle before milking in order to obtain a let-down of milk.1990, WJA Payne, An Introduction to Animal Husbandry in the Tropics:
Occasionally a baby will be caught off-guard by mother's strong let-down and he will choke and sputter a bit.2004, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, 7th edition, Penguin, page 54:

1 more example

Through oxytocin mediation, these afferent pathways become so well established that letdown can occur even when the mother merely thinks of her baby.2010, Jan Riordan, Karen Wamback, Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 4th edition, Jones & Bartlett, page 91:

Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences 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.

Related terms: let down

let down

verb

Idiomatic To disappoint; to betray or fail somebody.

I promised him I would meet him there, and I will not let him down.
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.1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1973–1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1065:

2 more examples

I had some problems and no one could seem to solve them / But you found the answer / You told me to take this chance and learn the ways of love / My baby, and all that it has to offer / In time you will see that love won't let you down.1982, DeBarge, “All This Love (DeBarge song)”, in All This Love (album):
ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan said: "AWC has continued to cancel services and, every day, continued to let passengers down. But the Government doesn't seem to care.2023 April 5, “Network News: Conservatives accused of "rewarding Avanti's failure"”, in RAIL, number 980, page 6:

Business, Clothing, Fashion, Lifestyle, Manufacturing, Textiles To lengthen by undoing and resewing a hem.

To reduce one's level of effort.

To soften in tempering.

to let down tools or cutlery

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To thin; to reduce the thickness or viscosity of.

let the sauce down with a little pasta water if it starts to become too thick; if the soup is too thick, you can let it down with a little milk; let the sauce down with a dash of the pickling liquor; use some of the stock to let down the onion sauce

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see let, down: especially, to allow to descend.

let down your hair
let down a rope

Derived terms: let-down, letdown, let one's hair down, let someone down gently