download

1 of 2

noun

down·​load ˈdau̇n-ˌlōd 

computers

: an act or instance of transferring something (such as data or files) from a usually large computer to the memory of another device (such as a smaller computer) : an act or instance of downloading (see download entry 2) something

faster downloads

also : the item downloaded

two downloads

download

2 of 2

verb

downloaded; downloading; downloads

transitive verb

computers

: to transfer (data, files, etc.) from one location (such as a large computer or the cloud) to another (such as a smaller computer, smartphone, or storage device)

download the files onto your computer

downloading songs from the Internet

downloadable

ˈdau̇n-ˌlō-də-bəl 

adjective

Examples of download in a Sentence

Noun

The modem is capable of high-speed downloads.

The download will take about three minutes.

The program is available for download at the company's website.

The downloads are all in this folder.

Verb

He downloaded the files onto his computer.

She downloads songs from the Internet.

The new program makes downloading faster.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Dedicated exclusively to music, the Qobuz is based on three fundamental pillars: high-resolution streaming, high-resolution downloads and specialized editorial content. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

The show leads SiriusXM’s inspiration, mental health and life improvement category and is the top education podcast globally and has accumulated more than 188 million streams and downloads across platforms. —Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024

Verb

In the last month alone, one recent version of Whisper was downloaded over 4.2 million times from open-source AI platform HuggingFace. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2024

New episodes debut every Wednesday and can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Play, SoundCloud and more. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1977, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1975, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

download

1 of 2 noun

down·​load

ˈdau̇n-ˌlōd

: an act or instance of transferring data from a usually large computer to the memory of another device (as a smaller computer)

download

2 of 2 verb

down·​load

: to transfer (data) from one location (as a large computer to another smaller computer or storage device)

downloadable

-ˌlōd-ə-bəl

adjective