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Glite Dictionary
dead season

dead season

1 5.6
A time of year when few people buy things or use services
  • noun
translation icon : temporada baja
  • The dead season is tough.

Examples

  • The hotel offers discounts during the dead season to attract more guests.

  • His bookstore struggles to make a profit in the dead season every summer.

  • Retailers often use the dead season to restock shelves and plan for busier times.

  • This is a dead season!

  • The store offers deep discounts during the dead season to attract customers.

  • Many ski resorts see a drop in visitors during the dead season after the holidays.

  • Sales are typically slow in the dead season as few people are interested in buying lawn equipment.

Synonyms

off-season
vsdead season
31 3.4

A time of year when hotels, shops, and places are less busy

is the general low demand time for any product or service
softness
vsdead season
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A period when the economy is weak and people buy less

applies specifically to a slow sales period for a particular product or service
doldrums
vsdead season
  • Informal
7.6

A period when activity is low and progress stops

is the specific yearly low demand period for a product or service

Antonyms

peak season
3 2.9

The time when many people travel and prices are highest

How Busy

dead season
1 5.6
slowdown
53 3.7
lull
28 4.6

Surface Forms

dead season singular
dead seasons plural

Morphology

dead + season

The meaning 'a period with very little demand' is directly and compositionally derived from 'dead' (quiet, inactive) + 'season' (a period of the year); a learner who knows both words can infer a quiet/low-demand time. This usage is similar to other transparent phrases like 'low season' or 'slow season' and is cross-linguistically predictable, so it should be clear to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Dead season comes from times when shops, hotels, or markets feel dead, empty and quiet, during a certain season of the year. That's why dead season means a time with 'very little demand' or 'slow business' for a product or service.