let down — reduce effectiveness
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
To make something less effective, impressive, or successful than it could be, often by being a weak or disappointing aspect of it.
Say it like a native
Textbook The weak ending diminished the overall quality of the film.
Native The weak ending really let the film down.
'Let down' naturally means be the disappointing weak part. 'Diminished the overall quality' is formal.
Pattern: let down + object (thing/abstract noun)
In use
- The film was visually stunning, but the weak script really let it down.evaluation
- While the research was thorough, the lack of clear conclusions let the paper down and weakened its overall impact.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The acting was let down the film.
✓ The poor acting let the film down.
The weak element is the subject — 'X lets Y down' (X is what spoils Y).
Common collocations
let + down— let the team down, letting it down, let down by, the weak link
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense ('let down' = disappoint someone), this sense is about a thing or aspect reducing the overall quality or impact of something, not about disappointing a person directly.
Related
- let down (disappoint someone) — 'let down' also has the more basic meaning 'disappoint someone'; this is the advanced sense.