TROUGH: The transition of a business cycle from a contraction and an expansion. The end of a contraction carries the descriptive term trough. At the trough, the economy has reached the lowest level of production in recent times. The good thing about a trough, however, is that it is a turning point, a turning point to an expansion. So even though a peak is the "lowest" is not necessarily something that's undesirable. See also | business cycle | contraction | expansion | recession | peak |