Let down means to disappoint someone who was relying on you. A thing or one of your own skills can let you down too: My memory let me down. The noun “a let-down” means a disappointment, when something turns out worse than you expected.
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let + person + down; let yourself down; feel let down; be a let-down
- I promised to help my sister move on Saturday, so I can't let her down.
- My grammar was fine, but my spelling let me down in the written exam.
- We chose the hotel for its sea view, but the room was a real let-down.
What changed
First versionTom promised to come, but he let down me.
RevisionTom promised to come, but he let me down.
It may seem logical to put the pronoun at the end, after “down”. But a pronoun such as “me”, “her” or “them” goes between “let” and “down”: “let me down”. With a noun, both orders are possible: “let the team down” and “let down the team”.
“Disappoint” simply means to make someone feel that something was worse than they hoped: The ending of the film disappointed me. “Let down” adds that someone was counting on you and you did not do what you promised: You said you'd call, and you let me down.
Your turn
Kate has never missed a deadline, so don't worry: she won't ___.
Show the answer
let you down — “You” is a pronoun, so it goes between “let” and “down”: “let you down”. The order “let down” + object only works with a noun (“let down the team”); with a pronoun, it is a mistake.
Think of a time when a device or your own memory let you down. Write what happened and at what moment.
My laptop let me down ten minutes before my online interview, so I had to join from my phone.
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