[dohl-druh
mz, dol-, dawl-] 
) | 1. | a state of inactivity or stagnation, as in business or art: August is a time of doldrums for many enterprises. |
| 2. | the doldrums,
|
| 3. | a dull, listless, depressed mood; low spirits. |
| dol·drums (dōl'drəmz', dôl'-, dŏl'-) pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
[From obsolete doldrum, dullard, alteration (influenced by tantrum) of Middle English dold, past participle of dullen, to dull, from dul, dull; see dull.] |
| doldrums (dōl'drəmz') Pronunciation Key
A region of the globe found over the oceans near the equator in the intertropical convergence zone and having weather characterized variously by calm air, light winds, or squalls and thunderstorms. Hurricanes originate in this region. |
doldrums
equatorial regions of light ocean currents and winds within the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), a belt of converging winds and rising air encircling the Earth near the Equator. The northeast and southeast trade winds meet there; this meeting causes air uplift and often produces clusters of convective thunderstorms. They occur along the Equator in the Indian and western Pacific oceans and slightly north of the Equator off the African and Central American west coasts. The crews of sailing ships dreaded the doldrums because their ships were often becalmed there; the designation for the resultant state of depression was apparently thus extended to these geographic regions themselves.
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