spin down

To turn more slowly, usually until completely stopped.

• The motor began to spin down.
• Wait for the wheel to spin down before touching it.
• The engineer spun the rotor down after the test.

How to use it: spin something down (The operator spun the turbine down before checking it.)

Similar words: slow down

Opposites: spin up

Common phrases: spin down slowly, spin down the rotor

To lose energy or activity, or gradually come to an end.

• The project is starting to spin down.
• We spun down the campaign as funding ran out.
• Several programs will spin down by the end of the year.

How to use it: spin something down (They plan to spin the project down over six months.)

Similar words: wind down, peter out

Opposites: ramp up

Common phrases: spin down operations, spin down gradually

When a computer disk turns slower than needed to read or save data, it does this.

• The hard drive has spun down.
• Unused disks spin down to save power.
• How long does the drive wait before spinning down?

How to use it: spin something down (The computer spins the drive down when it is idle.)

Opposites: spin up

Common phrases: spin down when idle, spin down the disk

To gradually have fewer resources or become less able to do things.

• The organization began to spin down after years of cuts.
• Without new staff, our research capacity has spun down.
• The service kept spinning down as its budget shrank.

Similar words: decline, weaken, deteriorate

Common phrases: spin down steadily, spin down over time