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I think there's a lot of, unfortunately, unfunny ventriloquists out there, so they've got a bad rap. It came after Edgar Bergen because everybody had a little cheeky boy dummy like Charlie McCarthy, and everybody decided to become a ventriloquist because Bergen had popularized it. He brought it back from the doldrums of vaudeville.
Jeff Dunham

Meaning of "the doldrums" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF THE DOLDRUMS

the doldrums play
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WHAT DOES THE DOLDRUMS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Doldrums

The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage, in which it refers to those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm. The low pressure is caused by the centrifugal force from the rotation movement of the Earth which is most important at the equator, which makes the air rise and travel north and south high in the atmosphere, until it subsides again in the horse latitudes. Some of that air returns to the doldrums through the trade winds. This process can lead to light or variable winds and more severe weather, in the form of squalls, thunderstorms and hurricanes. The doldrums are also noted for calm periods when the winds disappear altogether, trapping sail-powered boats for periods of days or weeks. The term appears to have arisen in the 18th century – when cross-Equator sailing voyages became more common. Colloquially, the "doldrums" are a state of inactivity, mild depression, listlessness or stagnation. The word is derived from dold and -rum, a noun suffix found in such words as "tantrum".

Definition of the doldrums in the English dictionary

The first definition of the doldrums in the dictionary is a depressed or bored state of mind. Other definition of the doldrums is a state of inactivity or stagnation. The doldrums is also a belt of light winds or calms along the equator.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE THE DOLDRUMS

the die is cast
the Diggers
the dingbats
the Directory
the discus
the dismal science
the Dispersion
the distance
the Ditch
the divine
the divinity
the Dog Star
the dogs
the dole
the done thing
the Dove
the Downs
the drink
the drum
the dry

WORDS THAT END LIKE THE DOLDRUMS

Adams
agendums
arms
come to terms
coms
customs
doldrums
drums
Ems
Hums
in no uncertain terms
mediums
ms
rms
rooms
sums
terms
terrarariums
Williams
with open arms

Synonyms and antonyms of the doldrums in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «THE DOLDRUMS»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «the doldrums» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of the doldrums

Translation of «the doldrums» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF THE DOLDRUMS

Find out the translation of the doldrums to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of the doldrums from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «the doldrums» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

低迷
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

capa caída
570 millions of speakers

English

the doldrums
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

उदासी
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

حالة ركود
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

депрессивном состоянии
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

marasmo
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

দারোয়ান
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

le marasme
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Yang malas
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

der Flaute
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

不振
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

침체
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Sing mbingungake
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

tình trạng ảm đạm
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

தைரியம்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

धिटाई
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Sersemler
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

stasi
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

zastoju
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

депресивному стані
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

deprimat
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

οι μελαγχολίες
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

die doldrums
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

svacka
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

doldrums
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of the doldrums

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «THE DOLDRUMS»

The term «the doldrums» is regularly used and occupies the 96.326 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
55
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «the doldrums» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of the doldrums
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «the doldrums».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «THE DOLDRUMS» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «the doldrums» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «the doldrums» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about the doldrums

EXAMPLES

4 QUOTES WITH «THE DOLDRUMS»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word the doldrums.
1
Matt Bomer
I don't know anybody who walks through life all the time in the doldrums, constantly serious and morose. But that's become what we generalize as drama.
2
Jeff Dunham
I think there's a lot of, unfortunately, unfunny ventriloquists out there, so they've got a bad rap. It came after Edgar Bergen because everybody had a little cheeky boy dummy like Charlie McCarthy, and everybody decided to become a ventriloquist because Bergen had popularized it. He brought it back from the doldrums of vaudeville.
3
Phyllis McGinley
A hobby a day keeps the doldrums away.
4
Barbara Windsor
I found myself in the doldrums in the early Nineties. I was too old to play the dolly bird any longer and I looked too young to play a woman of my real age. No one ever saw me as the aunt, mother or grandmother.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «THE DOLDRUMS»

Discover the use of the doldrums in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to the doldrums and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Phantom Tollbooth
From the Hardcover edition.
Norton Juster, 2011
2
Death in the Doldrums: U-cruiser Actions Off West Africa
"U-68 and U-505, the main participants featured in this book, had not been expected to be more than nuisance value to the Allies.
Bernard Edwards (Captain.), 2005
3
The Family and Individual Development
Winnicott chronicles the complex inner lives of human beings, from the first encounter between mother and newborn, through the 'doldrums' of adolescence, to maturity.
D. W. Winnicott, 2012
4
The Doldrums, Christ and the Plantanism
The Doldrums now follow the present line of the zero parallel of the Earth, that is, they travel through Ecuador, Brazil, the center of Africa, Sumatra and the islands of the South Pacific as I already mentioned, but this equatorial line is not steady, ...
Rogelio Garcia Barcala, 2003
5
Encyclopedia of the Middle Passage
New York: AMS Press, 1973 (1788); Miller, Randall M., and Smith, John David, eds. Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Oyekemi Olajope Oyelakin Doldrums The ''doldrums'' are also known as ''calms.
Toyin Falola, Amanda Warnock, 2007
6
Essentials of Physical Geography
Because of the converging moist air and high potential for rainfall in the doldrums , this region coincides with the world's latitudinal belt of heaviest precipitation and most persistent cloud cover. Old sailing ships often remained becalmed in the ...
Robert Gabler, James Petersen, L. Trapasso, 2006
7
Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums: What to do Next When You're ...
It's true that young people can be just as bored as mid-career individuals, but they are less vulnerable to the inertia and fatalism that marks the doldrums. When you're young, you can rationalize boredom as “paying your dues” and put up with  ...
Marcia L. Worthing, Charles A. Buck, 2011
8
Landfalls of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the Pacific Islands
The doldrums, also known as the equatorial trough or intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), is an area of low pressure situated between the trade winds of the two hemispheres. The width of the doldrums varies daily and seasonally but ...
Earl R. Hinz, 1999
9
The Encyclopedia of World Climatology
According to the Oxford English Dictionary there apparently arose a misunderstanding of the phrase “in the doldrums” used by some sailors, the human physiological state or condition of being transferred to a geographic belt or locality.
John E. Oliver, 2005
10
Teacher's Weather Sourcebook
The trade wind belts result from Earth's attempt to balance The Doldrums The trades from each hemisphere converge in a narrow zone near the equator known traditionally as the doldrums, a term coined in 1811 by sailors. The doldrums are  ...
Tom Konvicka, 1999

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «THE DOLDRUMS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term the doldrums is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Caught in the Doldrums
My pastoral doldrums are not bad enough to warrant time off but they also mean I'm not functioning normally. The hardest part is that often the Doldrums are ... «ChristianityToday.com, Jul 15»
2
THE IDLE AMERICAN: A summer without the doldrums ...
(It may turn out that no significant doldrums will surface this summer.)… My wife and I drove across West Texas recently, and we were shocked to see small lakes ... «Odessa American, Jul 15»
3
Alberta's economy in the doldrums, but not in a recession: Crown bank
CALGARY -- Alberta's Crown-owned bank says the province's economy remains in the doldrums, but it is not expecting a recession this year. ATB Financial says ... «CTV News, Jul 15»
4
Chinese carbon market doldrums may undermine climate efforts
BEIJING Regulatory uncertainty and a lack of transparency have left trade on China's seven pilot carbon exchanges in the doldrums, which could undermine ... «Reuters, Jul 15»
5
Hokulea enters the Great Barrier Reef, Hikianalia navigated through …
Hokule'a has entered the Great Barrier Reef and Hikianalia just got out of a cloudy, rainy, sometimes stormy area called the Doldrums. The three young ... «KHON2, Jun 15»
6
KENYA : Uchumi Supermarkets back in the doldrums
The supermarkets group Uchumi, in which the Kenyan State owns a 14,6% stake via the ministry for trade, is once again in the financial doldrums. Struggling to ... «Africa Intelligence, May 15»
7
Club Brugge are back after decade in the doldrums
In the beginning of March, all of Belgium wept with Lorenzo "Lorre" Schoonbaert. The terminally ill 41-year-old Club Brugge fan delayed his euthanasia in order ... «ESPN FC, Apr 15»
8
Jeff Neubauer's plan to quickly pull Fordham out of the doldrums
“I'm taking over a program that has really struggled, and it needs a new vibrancy. It needs new life,” the school's newly minted basketball coach said Tuesday at ... «New York Post, Mar 15»
9
In the Doldrums, Brazil Looks to US
BRASÍLIA—An economic downturn is prodding Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to try to improve relations with Washington and put a nearly two-year-old U.S. ... «Wall Street Journal, Mar 15»
10
Duo plays dress up to beat the doldrums of chemo
Playing dress up is a love for a lot of little girls. Mother and daughter, Robyn and Carla Willson, remember how much fun it used to be when they dressed up ... «USA TODAY, Jan 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. The doldrums [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/the-doldrums>. Apr 2024 ».
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