downtime
/ˈdaʊntaɪm/
Very CommonA period when game servers or an online service are unavailable, either unplanned due to an outage or planned for maintenance.
In gaming contexts, unplanned downtime carries more frustration than scheduled maintenance. Both get the label but players distinguish between them.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | unexpected downtime right in the middle of ranked. great. | Servers crashed mid-match during competitive play. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | downtime is a great time to touch grass apparently | Joking about being forced to do something other than play. | reddit, 2023 |
| 03 | is the downtime over yet or are we all just sitting here | Asking if the servers are back while assuming everyone is still waiting. | reddit, 2024 |
| 04 | they always pick peak hours for downtime somehow | Maintenance windows consistently fall when most players are active. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- Servers are unavailable whether because of a crash or scheduled maintenance.
- A service or website is unreachable.
- Describing the period of time when a game or app is offline.
Do not use it when
- The game is up but you are just not playing.
- You want to emphasize it was planned and scheduled.Use “server maintenance” instead.
Downtime vs server maintenance
downtime
Downtime covers both planned and unplanned server unavailability.
VS
server-maintenance
Server maintenance specifically refers to a planned, scheduled window.
Origin and context
A technical term from systems and network engineering that crossed into everyday player vocabulary as online multiplayer became the dominant mode of gaming in the 2000s.
- First seen
- late-1990s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/downtimeUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0