trough
n. countablen. a long, narrow container for animals to eat or drink from. In business, it also describes the lowest point in a cycle, like when prices or sales are at their worst.
n. a long, shallow open container for animal feed or water; by extension, the lowest point of a fluctuating cycle in economics or meteorology.
The farmer filled the trough with fresh water for the pigs.
Economists noted that the market reached its trough in mid-winter before beginning a slow recovery in the spring.
While the peak of the cycle brought record profits, the subsequent trough forced the company to liquidate several non-core assets to maintain liquidity during the downturn.
PIE word *dóru From Middle English trogh, from Old English troh, trog (“a trough, tub, basin, vessel for containing liquids or other materials”), from Proto-West Germanic trog, from Proto-Germanic trugą, trugaz, from Proto-Indo-European drukós, enlargement of *dóru (“tree”). See also West Frisian trôch, Dutch trog, German Trog, Danish trug, Swedish tråg; also Middle Irish drochta (“wooden basin”), Old Armenian տարգալ (targal, “ladle, spoon”). More at tree.
Often used metaphorically in economics to describe the bottom of a business cycle, contrasted with 'peak'.