deflation

1. the act or process of deflating.
2. a fall in the average prices of goods and services; -- usually associated with contraction of economic activity. Opposite of inflation. Compare disinflation.
3. the reduction of available credit or a contraction of economic activity resulting from or associated with a decline of prices.
4. the act of letting the air out of something.
5. (Geol.) the erosion of land structures such as sand or soil due to the action of wind.