in the doldrums

in the doldrums

1. Depressed or in low spirits; lethargic, sluggish, or lacking energy. I've been in the doldrums ever since my grandfather died last month. I haven't really felt like going out and seeing friends lately. I'm just down in the doldrums a bit, I suppose.
2. In a state of stagnation; lacking activity or progress. After being in the doldrums for the past several years, the economy finally began to pick up over the last two months. The company has been in the doldrums ever since they replaced their CEO.
See also: doldrums
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*in the doldrums

Fig. sluggish; inactive; in low spirits. (*Typically: be ~; put someone [into] ~.) He's usually in the doldrums in the winter. I had some bad news yesterday, which put me into the doldrums.
See also: doldrums
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

in the doldrums

Depressed; dull and listless. For example, Dean's in the doldrums for most of every winter. This expression alludes to the maritime doldrums, a belt of calms and light winds north of the equator in which sailing ships were often becalmed. [Early 1800s] Also see down in the dumps.
See also: doldrums
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

in the doldrums

COMMON If a person, organization, economy, etc. is in the doldrums, they are not successful and are not making any progress. The restaurant business, like many other businesses, is in the doldrums. I was bored and my career was in the doldrums.
See also: doldrums
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

in the ˈdoldrums

quiet or depressed: Property sales have been in the doldrums for some time. He was in the doldrums for the whole winter.
See also: doldrums
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

in the doldrums

Depressed, down in the dumps; stagnant, inactive. The word, whose origin is uncertain, began to be used in the early nineteenth century both for the maritime doldrums, a belt of calms and light winds north of the equator in which sailing ships often found themselves becalmed, and for a feeling of depression. Thus Frederick Marryat wrote, in Jacob Faithful (1835), “Come father, old Dictionary is in the doldrums; rouse him up.”
See also: doldrums
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • down in the doldrums
  • be in the doldrums
  • doldrums
  • a pep talk
  • pep talk
  • come into a (small) fortune
  • run a fever
  • run a fever and run a temperature
  • place of business
  • a/(one's) place of business
References in classic literature
Equatorial work at low levels is trying enough in all conscience without the added terrors of scientific hooliganism in the Doldrums. Rhyl.
Actions and Reactions
"I understood quite a good deal of First Principles, but his Biology took the wind out of my sails, and his Psychology left me butting around in the doldrums for many a day.
The Sea Wolf
But yes, saying the economy is in the doldrums contradicts the rosy picture the economic managers constantly paint.
Economy in the doldrums
President Duterte reportedly told an audience in Davao City last Friday-participants in the National Information and Communications Technology Summit-that 'now, the economy is in the doldrums...
Economic doldrums? Not quite
While the region has been left in the doldrums in recent years with no clear vision, Korea seeks to make it a hub not only for business but also tourism and a site for generating clean and renewable energy.
Korea to launch Saemangeum Development Corp
"Stuck in the Doldrums: A Lesson in Sharing" is a great teaching fable of the Captain No Beard series.
Stuck in the Doldrums
THE region's anglers are going through a very lean spell at the moment with sport really in the doldrums.
Angling: The going gets tough for North East anglers; HOOKED
After a number of quarters in the doldrums, newsletter acquisition activity finally awoke in the second quarter this year to join the rest of the information industry in the stepped-up level of overall acquisitions that began last year, reports the merger and acquisition advisory firm Whitestone Communications--which tracks M & A deals for its annual Who's Buying Whom reference publication.
Whitestone says newsletter M & A's are joining the dance
I don't think we are in the doldrums. We have just qualified for the World Cup with a game to spare and that has not happened for quite a while.
In off the post: QUOTE UNQUOTE
Domestic steel demand could remain in the doldrums if the summer construction season is slower than the past two, and also if oar-buying habits are changing as rapidly as early figures indicate.
First cut is the deepest
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY boss Paul Sturrock celebrated promotion to the Championship and the end of 'years in the doldrums' for the club's longsuffering fans after a 4-2 League One play-off final victory over Hartlepool.
Football: Owls finally come out of the shadows
With little going on in the way of homicide, Minneapolis detective Magozzi and Rolseth are in the doldrums. Then suddenly a serial killer seems bent on wiping out elderly Jewish survivors of WW II concentration camps.
Live Bait
Assisted riving, however, still seems locked in the doldrums, with its short-term debt delinquency rate now approaching 10%.
The slow turnaround
That means a few more months or quarters in the doldrums.
Waiting for Godot
"There's no doubt that buying Hamptons real estate is becoming a more attractive option' to growing numbers of consumers and investors, especially with the stock market remaining in the doldrums and conventional banking products generating only marginal returns," Ms.
Hamptons still hot, say local real estate brokers. (Residential)