Down in the dumps means feeling sad, low or gloomy. It usually describes sadness that will soon pass: after a failure, some bad news or at the end of a holiday. The idiom is informal; in an IELTS essay, unhappy or low works instead.
When would you say down in the dumps?
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be/feel/look + (a bit) down in the dumps
- Jake has been a bit down in the dumps since his best friend moved abroad.
- I always feel down in the dumps when the holidays end and work starts again.
- You look down in the dumps. Did the job interview not go well?
What changed
First versionSince his team lost the final, Max has been in depression.
RevisionSince his team lost the final, Max has been down in the dumps.
People sometimes call ordinary sadness depression, but in English in depression is an unnatural way to describe a mood, and the word depression sounds like a medical diagnosis. For sadness after losing a match, down in the dumps is the right choice. Only in depression was replaced.
Feel down is shorter and more neutral: I've been feeling a bit down lately. For a serious condition, people say depressed or suffering from depression, and a light, informal idiom would be out of place.
Your turn
Ever since her holiday ended, Kate has been ___ and doesn't feel like going out.
Show the answer
down in the dumps — Her holiday is over and Kate doesn't feel like going out, so she is feeling low: down in the dumps. Full of beans means “full of energy”, and a person like that would be eager to go out.
Think of a time when you or a friend felt down. Name the reason and say what helped lift the mood.
My flatmate was down in the dumps after failing her driving test, so we cooked her favourite pasta, which cheered her up.
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