down

1 of 8

adverb

ˈdau̇n 

1

a(1)

: toward or in a lower physical position

Don't look down.

Pull down the blind.

(2)

: to a lying or sitting position

Please sit down.

(3)

: toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom

burned the house down

fell down

b

: as a down payment

paid $10 down

c

: on paper

put down what he says

2

: in a direction that is the opposite of up: such as

a

: southward

traveled down to South Africa

b

: to or toward a point away from the speaker or the speaker's point of reference

walked down to my neighbor's house

c

: in or into the stomach

can't keep food down

3

: to a lesser degree, level, or rate

cool down tensions

Try to calm down.

4

: to or toward a lower position in a series

seems to be far down on their agenda

moved down in the pop charts

5

a

: to or in a lower or worse condition or status

students held down by a lack of social support

b

—used to indicate thoroughness or completion

dusted down the house

described him down to his haircut

6

: from a past time

stories passed down by word of mouth

7

: to or in a state of less activity or prominence

scaled down our plans

8

: to a concentrated state

got the report down to three pages

9

: into defeat

voted the motion down

down

2 of 8

preposition

: down (see down entry 1) along, around, through, toward, in, into, or on

fell down the stairs

write down the phone number

down the years

grew up down the block from each other

pacing up and down the room

down

3 of 8

verb

downed; downing; downs

transitive verb

1

: to cause to go or come down (see down entry 1) : such as

a

: to cause to fall by or as if by shooting : bring down sense 1

downed the enemy helicopter

b

: consume sense 3

downing slices of pizza

2

football : to cause (a ball) to be out of play

downed the ball at the five-yard line

3

: defeat

down a proposal

intransitive verb

: to go down

down

4 of 8

adjective

1

a(1)

: occupying a low position

specifically : lying on the ground

down timber

(2)

: directed or going downward

attendance is down

b

: lower in price

c

football : not being in play because of wholly stopped progress or because the officials stop the play

The ball was down.

d

: defeated or trailing an opponent (as in points scored)

down by two runs

e

baseball : out

two down in the top of the third inning

2

a

: reduced or low in activity, frequency, or intensity

a down economy

b

: not operating or able to function

The computer is down.

c

: depressed, dejected

feeling a bit down

also : depressing

a down movie

d

: sick

down with flu

3

: done, finished

eight down and two to go

4

: completely mastered

had her lines down

—often used with pat

got the answers down pat

5

a

slang : cool sense 7

a down dude

b

slang : understanding or supportive of something or someone

—usually used with with

trying to prove that they were down with hip-hop culture

—J. E. White

6

: being on record

you're down for two tickets

down

5 of 8

noun (1)

1

: descent, depression

emotional ups and downs

the ups and downs of the business cycle

2

: an instance of putting down someone (such as an opponent in wrestling)

3

football

a

: a complete play to advance the ball

b

: one of a series of four attempts in American football or three attempts in Canadian football to advance the ball 10 yards

caught the ball on third down

4

chiefly British : dislike, grudge

5

: downer

6

physics : a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of -¹/₃ and that is one of the constituents of a nucleon

down

6 of 8

noun (2)

1

: an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil

—usually used in plural

sheep grazing on the grassy downs

2

often capitalized : a sheep of any breed originating in the downs of southern England

down

7 of 8

noun (3)

1

: a covering of soft fluffy feathers

also : these feathers

goose down pillows

2

: something soft and fluffy like down

a trace of down on his cheeks

Down

8 of 8

noun (4)

: down syndrome

—usually used attributively

a Down baby

Phrases

down to the ground

: perfectly, completely

that suits me down to the ground

down on

: having a low opinion of or dislike for

The coach has been down on him lately.

down on one's luck

: experiencing misfortune and especially financial distress

Synonyms

Adverb

• below
• downward
• downwards
• over

Verb

• bowl (down or over)
• drop
• fell
• floor
• knock down
• knock over
• level
• mow (down)
• prostrate

Adjective

• complete
• completed
• concluded
• done
• ended
• finished
• over
• over with
• terminated
• through
• up

Noun (1)

• floss
• fluff
• fur
• fuzz
• lint
• nap
• pile

Noun (2)

• bummer
• downer

Noun (3)

• campo
• champaign
• grassland
• heath
• lea
• ley
• llano
• moor
• pampa
• plain
• prairie
• savanna
• savannah
• steppe
• tundra
• veld
• veldt

Examples of down in a Sentence

Adverb

The land slopes down to the sea.

She called down to her friends in the street below.

They set the cake down on the table.

Lay down your book for a minute.

We watched the sun go down.

We keep our wine collection down in the basement.

What's going on down there?

He fell down and hurt his knee.

Climb down out of that tree!

He knocked him down with one punch.

Preposition

Sweat dripped down her neck.

The children ran down the hill.

She fell down the stairs.

He climbed down the ladder.

He spilled mustard down the front of his shirt.

Her hair hung loosely down her back.

Go down the road and turn left.

We grew up down the block from each other.

The bathroom is halfway down the hall on the right.

His pitches were right down the middle of the plate.

Verb

The storm downed power lines throughout the city.

a large number of downed power lines

They were downing beers and watching the game on TV.

The quarterback downed the ball to stop the clock.

Adjective

The window shades were down.

The candy is down on the bottom shelf.

There was a pile of dirty clothes down on the floor.

She took the down escalator.

These changes should help keep prices down.

Stocks are down again today.

Noun (1)

a comforter filled with goose down

Noun (2)

lately it's been one down after another in my life

I don't understand why she'd have such a down against me; we've never even spoken to each other!

for years after the war her grandfather had an unshakable down on the Germans

suffered with a psychological disorder in which she alternated between emotional ups and downs

experienced the ups and downs of a career in showbiz

Noun (3)

hold a festival on the downs

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

On cold days, its extra length and 650-fill-power down feel like a warm hug. —Abigail Barronian, Outside Online, 11 Nov. 2024

The Broncos navigated their final drive beautifully, bled the clock all the way down and didn’t give it back to Mahomes. —Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024

Preposition

The incident outside the Embarcadero Station on Market Street closed down the system for about 40 minutes during the morning commute, officials said. —Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024

Scrambling to tamp down the spread of the devastating disease, public health officials are blasting messages to South Dakotans on billboards and television, urging people to get tested. —Kff Health News, Orange County Register, 13 Nov. 2024

Verb

Approximately 40 firefighters responded to the blaze, which was first reported at 11:43 a.m., destroyed one building, damaged at least three others, and downed utility wires along 17th Street. —Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024

Left in the wake of the tornadoes were damage to several structures and downed power lines, traffic lights and trees, the Oklahoma City Fire Department said. —Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024

Adjective

But the top of the ticket often has an impact on down ballot races. —Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, 2 Nov. 2024

The Vikings have played something of a slow down offense this season, especially in recent weeks. —Steve Silverman, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Noun

Fans of opening day are looking for that oomph to carry you through a long season of ups and downs. —Frederick Dreier and Adam Roy, Outside Online, 11 Nov. 2024

The results made something very clear– Black people in the United States heavily rely on Christianity to get through the ups and downs of everyday life. —Maya Richard-Craven, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adverb, Preposition, Verb, Adjective, and Noun (1)

Middle English doun, from Old English dūne, short for adūne, of dūne, from a- (from of), of off, from + dūne, dative of dūn hill

Noun (2)

Middle English doun hill, from Old English dūn — see down entry 1

Noun (3)

Middle English doun, from Old Norse dūnn

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Preposition

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun (1)

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (4)

1987, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing down

• a chill down your spine
• a chill/shiver runs up/down someone's spine
• a step up/down
• back down
• batten down
• batten down the hatches
• batter down
• bear down
• bear down on
• bed down
• been/gone down this/that road before
• bog down
• boil down
• bow down to (someone or something)
• break down
• break down into
• breathe down one's neck
• breathe down someone's neck
• bring down
• bring down the curtain on
• bring down the house
• bring the curtain down on
• bring the house down
• broken-down
• bucket down
• buckle down
• burn down
• button-down
• buttoned-down
• buy-down
• call down
• came down on us like a ton of bricks
• cast down
• change down
• chase down
• choke down
• chop down
• chow down
• clamp down
• clamp down on
• climb down
• come crashing down
• come down
• come down against
• come down from
• come down hard on
• come down in favor of
• come down in the world
• come down on
• come down on the side of
• come down the pike
• come down the pipeline
• come down to
• come down with
• copy down/out
• crack down
• cry down
• cut down
• cut down to size
• deep down (inside)
• die down
• do down
• doors down/up/apart
• double down
• down and dirty
• down-and-out
• down-and-outer
• down at heel
• down-at-heels
• down at the heel
• down-at-the-heels
• down bad
• down-ballot
• down-bow
• down east
• down-easter
• down for the count
• down-home
• down in the dumps
• down in the mouth
• down in the trenches
• down-low
• down-market
• down on
• down one's alley
• down one's street
• down on one's luck
• down payment
• down south
• down the drain
• down the hatch
• down the line
• down the middle
• down the pan
• down the pike
• down the plughole
• down the river
• down the road
• down the road/path to perdition
• down the street
• down the telephone
• down the tube
• down the tubes
• down to
• down-to-earth
• down to size
• down to the smallest/last/tiniest detail
• down-to-the-wire
• down under
• down with
• drag down
• draw down
• dress down
• dress-down day
• dressing-down
• drill down
• drop-down
• drop-down list
• drop-down menu
• dumb down
• dust oneself down
• face down
• fall down
• fall down on the job
• far down
• first down
• force/ram/shove (something) down someone's throat
• force (something) down
• get down
• get down and dirty
• get down on one's (hands and) knees
• get down to brass tacks
• get down to business
• get down to (something)
• get down to the nitty-gritty
• get down to work
• go down
• go down in history
• go down/like a bomb
• go down like a lead balloon
• go down on
• go down the aisle
• go down the tubes
• go down to defeat
• go down with
• going down the pan
• going down the plughole
• gone down the dumper
• grind down
• gun down
• hand down
• hand down a decision
• hand-me-down
• hands down
• have (got) (something) down to a science
• hold down
• hold down the fort
• hoot down
• hull down
• hunker down
• hunt down
• jump down someone's throat
• keep down
• keep it down
• keep one's head down
• keep one's voice down
• knock down
• knock-down-and-drag-out
• knock-down, drag-out
• knuckle down
• lay down
• lay down one's arms
• lay down one's life
• lay down the law
• lead one down the garden path
• lead (someone) down/up the garden path
• let down
• let down one's guard
• let one's guard down
• let one's hair down
• let (someone) down easy/gently
• let the side down
• lie down
• lie down on the job
• lift down
• live down
• load down with
• look down
• look down on
• look down one's nose
• look down one's nose at
• low-down
• make a chill/shiver run up/down someone's spine
• mark down
• melt down
• mow down
• nail down
• note down
• on the down-low
• Oxford down
• pass (something) down
• pat down
• pay down
• phase down
• pin down
• pipe down
• play down
• plonk down
• plop down
• plunk down
• pouring your money down the plughole
• pull down
• pull-down menu
• put down
• put down roots
• put down the phone
• put one's foot down
• put (someone) down as
• put (someone) down for
• put someone's name down
• put (something) down to
• put the phone down on (someone)
• quiet down
• quieten down
• reach-me-down
• (right) up/down someone's alley
• ring down the curtain
• roll down
• run down
• run one's eye down
• saw down
• scale-down
• scarf down
• sell down the river
• send a chill/shiver up/down someone's spine
• send down
• send shivers/chills up (and down) someone's spine
• set down
• settle down
• settle (someone or something) down
• shake down
• shoot down
• shout down
• shut down
• simmer down
• sit-down
• sitting down
• slap down
• slick back/down
• slim down
• smash down
• stand down
• stare down
• step down
• stop down
• strike down
• stripped-down
• suit (someone) down to the ground
• swear up and down
• take down
• take/knock/bring someone down a peg
• take (something) lying down
• talk down
• talk down to
• tear down
• teem down
• the curtain comes down on
• the down-low
• throw down
• throw down the gauntlet
• thumbs-down
• tie-down
• toned-down
• top-down
• touch down
• touch down the ball
• touch the ball down
• trade down
• trickle-down
• trickle-down theory
• trim down
• turn down
• turn (something) upside down
• up and down
• upside down
• upside-down cake
• voted down
• walk down the aisle
• wash down
• water down
• wave down (a vehicle)
• wear down
• weigh down
• went/came (right) down to the wire
• went down a treat
• went down the pan
• went down the plughole
• wet down
• when it comes (right) down to it
• when the chips are down
• when you come (right) down to it
• When you get right down to it
• whittle down
• wind down
• wipe down
• with one's pants down
• with one's trousers down
• write down

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

down

1 of 7 noun

ˈdau̇n 

: a rolling grassy upland

—usually used in plural

down

2 of 7 adverb

1

a

: toward or in a lower position

b

: to a lying or sitting position

c

: toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom

2

: as a down payment

paid $10 down

3

: in a direction opposite to up

add the numbers across and down

4

: to or in a lower or worse condition

held down by a bad economy

5

: from a past time

heirlooms that have been handed down

6

: to or in a state of less activity

excitement died down

down

3 of 7 adjective

1

a

: being in a low position

especially : lying on the ground

b

: directed or going downward

a down escalator

c

: being at a lower level

sales are down

2

a

: low in spirits : sad

feeling a bit down

b

: sick sense 1a

down with flu

3

: being finished or come to an end

eight down and two to go

down

4 of 7 preposition

: down along : down through : down toward : down in : down into : down on

down the road

down

5 of 7 noun

1

: a low or falling period

the ups and downs of life

2

: one of a series of four plays that a football team gets to advance the ball ten yards

down

6 of 7 verb

1

: to go or cause to go or come down

2

: consume sense 3

3

: to cause (a football) to be out of play

down

7 of 7 noun

1

: a covering of soft fluffy feathers

2

: something soft and fluffy like down

Etymology

Noun

Old English dūn "hill"

Adverb

Old English dūne "down," shortened from adūne, literally, "off the hill," from a- "off" and dūne, form of dūn "hill"

Noun

Middle English doun "down, feathers"; of Norse origin

Geographical Definition

Down

geographical name

ˈdau̇n 

1

district of southeastern Northern Ireland bordering the Irish Sea; established 1974 area 250 square miles (650 square kilometers), population 69,750

2

traditional county of southeastern Northern Ireland