depression: Meaning and Definition of

de•pres•sion

1. the act of depressing.
2. the state of being depressed.
3. a depressed or sunken place or part; an area lower than the surrounding surface.
4. sadness; gloom; dejection.
5. a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. Cf. clinical depression.
6. dullness or inactivity, as of trade.
7. a period during which business, employment, and stock-market values decline severely or remain at a very low level of activity.
8. See
9. a low state of vital powers or functional activity.
10. the angular distance of a celestial body below the horizon; negative altitude.
11. the angle between the line from an observer or instrument to an object below either of them and a horizontal line.
12. an area completely or mostly surrounded by higher land, ordinarily having interior drainage and not conforming to the valley of a single stream.
13. an area of low atmospheric pressure.