down

Less common meanings

19. 19
    sadadjectivecolloquial

    Sad, low, or depressed in mood.

    He's been down since he lost his job.

    Don't be down, it's only a game.

    UsageOften feel down, or be down about something.

    Similardepressed, miserable, sad, dejected, downcast

    Oppositeup, happy, cheerful, upbeat

20. 20
    out of orderadjective

    Of a machine or system, not working, out of order, or out of service.

    The elevator's down again, use the stairs.

    Half the network was down after the storm.

    UsageThe site is down; when it works again, it is back up.

    Similarbroken, offline, out, inoperative

    Oppositeup

21. 21
    willingadjectiveslangCanadaUS

    Willing or agreeable, often followed by with, for, or to.

    If everyone else is going, I'm down.

    She's down with whatever the group decides.

    UsagePatterns: down with a plan, down to go, down for anything. In general writing, say willing or okay.

    Similargame, in, willing, okay

    Note

    North American slang turns the word's usual gloom around: being down with a plan means accepting it.

22. 22
    feathersnouncountable or uncountable

    Soft, fluffy feathers that cover young birds and lie beneath the outer feathers of adults, also used as insulation in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets.

    A down sleeping bag packs small and keeps you warm.

    The nest was lined with down from the mother's breast.

    UsageAlso used before nouns, as in a down jacket.

    Similarfluff, fuzz

    Note

    A separate word that only happens to share the spelling: it comes from Old Norse dúnn, akin to German Daune and Danish dun. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The feather noun comes from Old Norse dúnn. en.wikipedia.org
    • The feather noun is related to German Daune and Danish dun. en.wiktionary.org
    • The feather noun has a separate origin from down referring to hills or descent; the latter derives from an Old English formation involving hill. en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    adjective

    Losing, or behind on score, in a game or contest.

    We were two sets down and came back to win.

    The home side is a goal down at the break.

    UsageThe margin can go either side: a goal down, down by two goals. The opposite is up.

    Similarbehind, trailing

    Oppositeup

    Note

    The frame works for whatever the contest counts: goals in football, pieces in chess, games in a tennis set. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Football scores count goals. theifab.com
    • A material deficit in chess can be measured in pieces. albertachess.org
    • Games are counted within a tennis set. itftennis.com
24. 24
    drink quicklyverbcolloquialtransitive

    To drink or swallow, especially in one go and to the bottom of the glass.

    They downed their coffees and ran for the bus.

    He can down a pint in four seconds.

    Similargulp, swig, quaff, swallow, guzzle

    Oppositesip

25. 25
    adverb

    As an initial payment made at once, with the rest to follow.

    Ten percent down and the balance over three years.

    She put a deposit down the same afternoon.

    UsageWith put, the amount can go before or after down: put $100 down, put down $100. Also no money down.

    Note

    The same payment named as a thing is the clipped noun, as in the down on a house. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The noun down meaning a down payment is a shortened form of down payment. dominionlending.ca
26. 26
    adjectiveUKbritish

    Followed by to: resulting from something, or resting with someone as their responsibility or choice.

    The team's poor form this season is largely down to injuries at the back.

    Whether the festival goes ahead next year is down to the council.

    UsageAmerican English prefers due to or because of for the cause, and up to for the choice.

    Similardue

27. 27
    football playnouncountable

    In American and Canadian football, one play, from the snap of the ball to the whistle that ends it.

    The offense has four downs to gain ten yards.

    On fourth down they chose to punt.

    Note

    In American football a down is a period of play that normally begins with a snap or a free kick and ends when the ball becomes dead; the whistle normally signals the end. Downs from scrimmage are counted in order, such as first down and third down. The count governs choices on the field, as when a team short of a first down punts on fourth down. Canadian football allows only three downs, so the punt there usually comes on third down. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The NFL also recognizes a down beginning with a fair catch kick; the stated ending is correct. static.www.nfl.com
    • The whistle normally signals that the down has ended. en.wikipedia.org
    • Scrimmage downs are numbered in sequence. en.wikipedia.org
    • A team may punt on fourth down when unlikely to gain a first down. operations.nfl.com
    • Canadian football provides three downs, with punts usually occurring on third down. en.wikipedia.org
28. 28
    adverb

    From a more distant past toward later times.

    The recipe was passed down from my great-grandmother.

    Folk tales like these have come down to us from the Middle Ages.

    UsageCommon in hand down, pass down, come down to us.

    Note

    Time is pictured as a slope running from the distant past toward the present, so customs, recipes and stories are handed down, passed down or come down to us. Daniel Webster, laying a cornerstone in 1825, greets the old men before him with "Venerable men! you have come down to us from a former generation". Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The cornerstone-laying ceremony took place in 1825. gutenberg.org
    • Daniel Webster participated in laying the cornerstone, as president of the Monument Association. gutenberg.org
    • Webster addressed the surviving veterans with the quoted words. gutenberg.org
29. 29
    illadjective

    Ill or laid low, usually followed by with and the cause.

    She was down with a stomach bug for a week.

    Three players are down with injuries.

    UsageFollowed by with + the illness: down with the flu. Without with, it sounds like low mood.

    Similarill, sick

    Oppositewell, healthy, fit

30. 30
    masteredadjective

    Thoroughly learned or practiced, so that it is mastered.

    He's got the accent down after a month.

    Once you have the basics down, the rest is easy.

    UsageMostly have or get something down: he's got the accent down.

    Similarlearned

31. 31
    adjective

    Of hair, falling freely rather than gathered back or fastened up.

    She had pinned it up for the interview, but tonight her hair was down around her shoulders.

    Kitchen staff may not have their hair down while preparing food.

    UsagePairs with up: hair up for work, down at home.

    Similarloose

    Oppositeup

    Note

    The idiom let your hair down, meaning to relax and drop formality, grows from this literal sense: hair taken out of its pins was once a private, off-duty look. It describes a style, not a length. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Unpinning and letting hair down was historically associated with private relaxation. albany-county-historical.squarespace.com
32. 32
    done withadjective

    Done, dealt with, or elapsed, usually paired with to go for what remains.

    Five exams down, one to go.

    Ten miles down and sixteen to go, his legs were already starting to ache.

    UsageMostly in the frame five down, one to go.

    Similardone, finished, completed

33. 33
    nouncountable

    The part of a price paid at the time of purchase, with the rest following later.

    The bank wanted a bigger down than we had.

    Her parents helped with the down, and she has covered the mortgage payments ever since.

    UsageShort for down payment, the more common phrase.

    Similardeposit

34. 34
    adjective

    Of a tree, limb, or timber, fallen or felled and lying on the ground.

    After the storm the woods were full of down branches.

    By morning, two old oaks were down across the road and the power was out.

    UsageOften before its noun, like fallen: down timber, down branches; also after a verb: two oaks were down.

    Similarfallen

    Oppositestanding

    Note

    It runs from trail reports through advice on camp fuel to forest ecology, where down wood is weighed in tons per acre. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Forest ecology reports quantify down wood by weight in tons per acre. research.fs.usda.gov
35. 35
    hostileadjectivecolloquial

    With on, negative about or hostile to someone or something, having turned against them.

    The critics were down on the film from the start.

    He's down on anything that costs money.

    UsageWith on: down on the film. Down with something means nearly the opposite, okay with it.

    Similarhostile, negative, critical

    Oppositekeen, enthusiastic, positive

36. 36
    chalk hillnoundialectalAustraliaSouthern Englandcountable or uncountable

    A hill, in England especially a bare, rounded chalk hill, often in the plural and in place names.

    Sheep grazed the down above the village.

    The South Downs run parallel to the coast.

    Similarhill

    Note

    The old hill word behind the adverb: Old English dūn, from a West Germanic word for a sandhill or dune, of uncertain origin and perhaps Celtic. It is at home in southern England and also in Australia, often plural and often in names, such as the North Downs and the South Downs. Shakespeare's Tempest already has an "unshrubb'd down." The adverb grew from "off the hill." Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

    • The hill noun descends from Old English dūn and a West Germanic word meaning sandhill or dune. en.wiktionary.org
    • Its deeper origin is uncertain, with Celtic borrowing a possibility. en.wiktionary.org
    • The geographical distribution and plural place-name use are supported. en.wiktionary.org
    • The North Downs and South Downs are named downland areas in southern England. en.wikipedia.org
    • Shakespeare's The Tempest contains “unshrubb'd down”; Ceres speaks the line in Act IV, scene I. gutenberg.org
    • The adverb derives from an expression meaning off the hill. repozytorium.amu.edu.pl
37. 37
    nouncountable

    A negative aspect of something; a downside.

    For all its ups and downs, teaching is still the most rewarding job she has ever had.

    The apartment is perfect; the one real down is the long commute.

    Similardownside, drawback, disadvantage, minus

    Oppositeupside, advantage, plus

38. 38
    adjectiveslang

    Of a person, especially a soldier or police officer: wounded and unable to move normally, or killed.

    Shots fired, officer down in the alley behind the bank.

    The patrol radioed that it had two men down after the ambush.

    UsageOften follows its noun: man down, officer down. For precision, specify wounded or killed when known.

    Similarwounded

    Note

    Its brevity is the point: it reports that someone is out of action without saying whether they are wounded or dead.

39. 39
    nouncountable

    In a crossword, a clue whose answer runs vertically in the grid.

    Seventeen down had me stuck for twenty minutes.

    The downs in today's puzzle were far easier than the acrosses.

    UsageAfter the clue number: 17 down, 12 across.

    Oppositeacross

    Note

    Since down and across answers share squares, each set gives letters that help crack the other. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Across and down answers intersect, providing letters that help solvers find other answers. en.wikipedia.org
40. 40
    nouncountable or uncountable

    The soft, fine hair on the face when it first begins to grow.

    A faint down had appeared on the boy's upper lip over the summer.

    At fifteen, all he could grow was a patch of pale down on his chin.

    Similarfuzz

    Note

    A word borrowed from the feathers: this down comes from Old Norse dúnn, a separate word from the adverb, and the first beard is pictured as soft as a fledgling's down. Dryden writes of the time when "the first Down began to shade his face". Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The facial-hair sense belongs to the same noun as the soft feathers of young birds. en.wiktionary.org
    • This noun derives through Middle English from Old Norse dúnn. en.wiktionary.org
    • The noun has a different origin from the directional adverb, which derives from Old English. en.wiktionary.org
    • Dryden wrote the quoted words; they occur in Nourmahal's speech in Aureng-Zebe. gutenberg.org
41. 41
    adverb

    Out of a large city or the capital toward the provinces or countryside, whatever the actual compass direction.
42. 42
    adverb

    To or at a place that local habit or the lie of the land treats as lower, even when no real drop or set direction is involved.
43. 43
    adverb

    Onward in the same line, keeping straight on.
44. 44
    adverb

    On a railway, heading from the main terminal end of a line toward the end where milepost numbers get higher.
45. 45
    adverbdatedUK

    Leaving Oxford or Cambridge University, for a vacation or for good.
46. 46
    adverb

    Toward the opposing team's end of the playing area in ball games.
47. 47
    adverb

    So as to make something smaller, lighter or less bulky, as when slimming or boiling a liquid away.
48. 48
    adverb

    So as to silence or overpower someone through intimidation, as by shouting or staring.
49. 49
    adverb

    In a crossword, running vertically from top to bottom, as opposed to across.
50. 50
    adverb

    Used alone as a command telling someone to drop low, take cover or get off something.
51. 51
    preposition

    Southward along or through a place, as when traveling the length of a coast.
52. 52
    preposition

    Following the current of a river toward its mouth.
53. 53
    adjective

    Of a cow or similar animal, lying on the ground and unable to get up.
54. 54
    adjectiveslang

    Of an aircraft, forced out of the sky by a crash, mechanical failure or enemy fire.
55. 55
    adjectiveslang

    Serving a sentence behind bars.
56. 56
    adjectivecolloquial

    In baseball or cricket, put out, as when counting dismissals, as in one down, two to go.
57. 57
    adjectiveslang

    Trusted and loyal within a street or gang community, and accepted by its members.
58. 58
    adjectiveobsolete

    Utter, complete or out-and-out.

    This, he muſt give me leave to tell him, is an abſolute, right down—falſehood.

    1764, Jonathan Mayhew, A Defence of the Observations on the Charter and Conduct of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign…
59. 59
    adjective

    Of a train, heading from the main terminal end of a line toward the end where milepost numbers get higher.
60. 60
    verb

    To shoot or knock an aircraft or other airborne object out of the sky, as with a missile.
61. 61
    verbcolloquial

    To belittle or criticize someone.
62. 62
    verbobsolete

    To move lower or descend.
63. 63
    verbCanadian

    In American or Canadian football, to make the ball dead and end the play, for example by kneeling while holding it.
64. 64
    verb

    To get a ball to drop into the cup in golf or a pocket in pool or snooker.
65. 65
    noundated

    A grudge or hostile attitude held against someone.

    She had a down on me. I don't know what for, I'm sure; because I never said a word.

    1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page
66. 66
    noun

    A drug that slows the nervous system, such as a sedative or tranquilizer.
67. 67
    noun

    The drinking of a whole glass or can in one go without stopping.
68. 68
    noun

    In a casino or cardroom, a dealer's stint at one table before moving on to another, often about half an hour.
69. 69
    noun

    A ground-floor room in a two-story house, as in a small home with two rooms on each level.
70. 70
    noun

    The second-lightest quark, carrying an electric charge of minus one third of a proton's charge.
71. 71
    noun

    An open grassy area, especially one used as a racecourse, usually in the plural.
72. 72
    nounUK

    Open, rolling land near the coast with poor sandy soil and short fine grass, used mostly as sheep pasture. Usually in the plural.
73. 73
    noun

    The fine soft hairs on some plants, or the fluffy tuft attached to seeds such as those of the thistle.
74. 74
    noun

    A bed, pillow or other thing filled with soft feathers, or anything that gives comfort and rest.
75. 75
    verb

    To pad or decorate something with soft fine feathers.