Definition of "countdown" []

• The counting backward aloud from an arbitrary starting number to indicate the time remaining before an event or operation, such as the launching of a missile or space vehicle. (noun)
• The checks and preparations carried out during this activity. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Yes | No | Report from bgreen902 wrote 28 weeks 4 days ago rapala countdown is amazing ... but for live bait I toss a wax worm in the fast moving water and let it drift down ...."
• "The final giveaway in the countdown is a much coveted ARC of Karen Chance's Curse the Dawn, the fourth book in her Cassandra Palmer series."
• "The teacher, psychologist Vic Witherman, was an expert in what he called countdown profiling."