slump

Everyday

1. To slump is to sit or fall down heavily because you are tired, ill or sad. tree →
2. To slump also means to fall suddenly by a large amount, like prices or sales. tree →
3. A slump is a time when business, trade or a team does badly (money, sport). tree →
4. A slump is also a sudden fall in numbers or in how well someone is doing. tree →

In the lessons

In stories «slumped» shows the reader that a person is exhausted, upset, ill or fainting (he slumped in his chair). In the news and money lessons a slump is a bad time for business, when people buy less and jobs may be lost. In sport a team in a slump keeps losing. Safety: if someone slumps and will not wake, call an adult or the emergency number. Phrases: slump into a chair, slumped over, a sales slump, in a slump.

Examples

• After the long race, Mia slumped onto the grass. tree →
• Grandad slumped in his armchair and fell asleep. tree →
• The boy slumped over his desk, too tired to finish. tree →
• Sales of ice cream slump in winter. tree →
• The team is in a slump and has lost five games in a row. tree →
• During the slump, many shops in town closed. tree →
• House prices slumped last year. tree →
• Sit up straight and don't slump at the table! tree →

Note

Past form: slumped. As a noun it is countable: a slump, two slumps. «Slump» (fall heavily) is close to «sag» and «collapse». In maths word problems «sales slumped by 40» means they went down by 40, so subtract.