What does slumped mean?
Slumped is the past tense and past participle of slump, a verb describing a sudden fall, collapse, or decline. When used physically, it often describes a person bending, sinking, or letting their body droop, as though exhausted or disappointed: “He slumped against the wall.” The word can convey discouragement, resignation, fatigue, or a loss of confidence. In figurative contexts, it refers to a sharp fall in something such as sales, prices, support, or performance: “The company’s profits slumped in the final quarter.” Slumped is standard in both British and American English and is especially common in journalism and business reporting, where it describes an abrupt deterioration rather than a prolonged decline. Its vivid combination of physical collapse and figurative failure makes it useful for conveying sudden setbacks with strong emotional or economic force.
verbTo sink or fall suddenly, especially into a seated or collapsed position. It can also mean to decline sharply or suddenly.
- To sink or fall suddenly into a lower or less stable position, especially with the body.
- To undergo a sudden, marked decline in level, value, or performance.
"Her shoulders slumped when she heard the disappointing news."
"He slumped into the chair and rested his head against the wall."
"Sales slumped after customers began switching to a cheaper competitor."
A person can slump from disappointment, while an entire market can slump from panic.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does slumped come from?
The modern English verb developed in the late nineteenth century from the noun slump, which was already in use for a sudden fall or decline. The deeper origin of slump is uncertain, so assigning it to a specific source language would be speculative. The noun and verb soon became established in both physical and figurative senses, and the past form slumped became common in descriptions of people, markets, and other sharply declining conditions.
Related word forms
How slumped is actually used
The physical sense is common in everyday description and can convey weariness, disappointment, or defeat. The figurative sense is especially common in business, finance, politics, and reports of declining figures or performance.
Easily confused with slumped
Slumped means to fall or decline suddenly, whereas lumped means to combine items or treat them as one group.
This is the standard past-tense and past-participle form of slump, so no distinction applies.