doldrums

views updated May 29 2018

dol·drums / ˈdōldrəmz; ˈdäl-; ˈdôl-/ • pl. n. (the doldrums) low spirits; a feeling of boredom or depression: color catalogs will rid you of February doldrums. ∎  a period of inactivity or a state of stagnation: the mortgage market has been in the doldrums for three years. ∎  an equatorial region of the Atlantic Ocean with calms, sudden storms, and light unpredictable winds.

doldrums

views updated Jun 08 2018

doldrums the condition of a ship making no headway; a region of calms, sudden storms, and light unpredictable winds near the Equator; in figurative usage, a state or period of little activity or progress in affairs. The word is recorded (as doldrum ‘dull, sluggish person’) from the late 18th century, and may come from dull, on the pattern of tantrums.

doldrums

views updated May 21 2018

doldrums Region of the ocean near the Equator, characterized by calms, and light and variable winds. It corresponds approximately to a belt of low pressure around the Equator.

doldrums

views updated May 23 2018

doldrums XIX. prob. orig. dial. or sl. f. dol DULL.

doldrums

views updated May 11 2018

doldrums The oceanic equatorial zone, which has low pressure and light, variable winds. The zone moves seasonally north and south of the equator.

doldrums

views updated May 08 2018

doldrums The oceanic equatorial zone, which has low pressure and light, variable winds. The zone moves seasonally north and south of the equator.