# down

Pronunciation: say "DOWN" /daʊn/

## Adverb

1. From a higher position to a lower one, or toward what counts as the bottom, as of a page or screen.
   - Simple: Toward a lower place or toward the bottom, like falling down or scrolling down a page.
   - _The kite drifted slowly down and caught in the branches of an oak._
   - _The sun went down behind the hills._
2. So as to reduce in amount, level, or force.
   - Simple: So that something becomes quieter, weaker or smaller in amount.
   - _Cut the recipe down to feed four._
   - _The doctor told him to calm down._
3. Into a state of not operating, with verbs of stopping.
   - Simple: So that something stops working or closes.
   - _The plant was wound down over a decade._
   - _Power down the machine before opening it._
5. Used with a verb to mark the action as carried through to completion, permanence, or success.
   - Simple: Used after a verb to show an action is done fully or for good.
   - _The police tracked down the thief within a day._
   - _We finally pinned down a date._
7. At a lower or farther point along a route, literally or figuratively.
   - Simple: Further along a road or path.
   - _The pharmacy is a few doors down._
   - _The next station is a few miles farther down._
9. Into writing or a lasting record.
   - Simple: So that something is put on paper or kept as a record.
   - _Jot the address down before you forget._
   - _The clerk noted down every word._
11. From the general to the detailed, into finer levels of information.
   - Simple: Into smaller parts or into more detail.
   - _Click a region to drill down to individual stores._
   - _The report breaks costs down by department._
14. So as to fasten or press something onto a surface, usually the floor or ground.
   - Simple: So that something is pressed or fixed firmly onto a surface, usually the floor or ground.
   - _Screw the boards down so they don't rattle._
   - _The tent was pegged down against the storm._
15. To a lower or less prestigious position or rank.
   - Simple: To a lower job, rank or level.
   - _The pitcher was sent down to the minor leagues after three bad starts._
   - _For losing his rifle, the corporal was busted down to private._
17. To or toward the south, the direction at the bottom of a typical map.
   - Simple: To the south, because south is at the bottom of most maps.
   - _She's moving down to Texas after graduation._
   - _Every spring break, half the campus heads down to Florida._
25. As an initial payment made at once, with the rest to follow.
   - Simple: Paid at once as the first part of a price, with the rest later.
   - _Ten percent down and the balance over three years._
   - _She put a deposit down the same afternoon._
28. From a more distant past toward later times.
   - Simple: From long ago to later times.
   - _The recipe was passed down from my great-grandmother._
   - _Folk tales like these have come down to us from the Middle Ages._

## Preposition

4. Along something from one end to the other, in whatever direction.
   - Simple: Along a street, beach, or road, in any direction.
   - _There's a bakery a little way down the road._
   - _We strolled down the pier to the end._
6. From the higher end of something to the lower.
   - Simple: From the top of something to the bottom.
   - _She slid down the banister._
   - _Rain streamed down the gutters._
13. Used informally to mean at or to a place seen as a short way off from where one is now, or from some other point of reference. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: At or to a nearby place, used in casual talk, as in going down the shops.
   - _My whole family is down the shore for the summer._
   - _He's not home yet; he's probably down the pub with his brother._

## Adjective

19. Sad, low, or depressed in mood. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Sad, unhappy, and low in spirits, especially after bad news.
   - _He's been down since he lost his job._
   - _Don't be down, it's only a game._
8. At a lower level than before; reduced.
   - Simple: Lower than before, in amount or value.
   - _Attendance is down by a fifth._
   - _His weight is down and his mood is up._
20. Of a machine or system, not working, out of order, or out of service.
   - Simple: Not working or out of service.
   - _The elevator's down again, use the stairs._
   - _Half the network was down after the storm._
21. Willing or agreeable, often followed by with, for, or to. *(slang, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Happy to go along with something, often used with 'with', 'for' or 'to'.
   - _If everyone else is going, I'm down._
   - _She's down with whatever the group decides._
23. Losing, or behind on score, in a game or contest.
   - Simple: Losing or behind 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._
18. Facing downward.
   - Simple: Facing toward the ground or the floor.
   - _Set each tile in the mortar with the glazed side up and the rough side down._
   - _Only the player who was dealt the down card is allowed to look at it._
26. Followed by to: resulting from something, or resting with someone as their responsibility or choice. *(UK)*
   - Simple: Followed by to, caused by something, or left for someone to decide or take care of.
   - _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._
29. Ill or laid low, usually followed by with and the cause.
   - Simple: Ill and unable to do much, usually with 'with' and the illness.
   - _She was down with a stomach bug for a week._
   - _Three players are down with injuries._
30. Thoroughly learned or practiced, so that it is mastered.
   - Simple: Learned so well that you know it perfectly.
   - _He's got the accent down after a month._
   - _Once you have the basics down, the rest is easy._
31. Of hair, falling freely rather than gathered back or fastened up.
   - Simple: Of hair, left to hang loose instead of being tied back or pinned 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._
32. Done, dealt with, or elapsed, usually paired with to go for what remains.
   - Simple: Already done or gone by, often used with 'to go' for what is left.
   - _Five exams down, one to go._
   - _Ten miles down and sixteen to go, his legs were already starting to ache._
34. Of a tree, limb, or timber, fallen or felled and lying on the ground.
   - Simple: Used about trees, branches or wood lying on the ground after falling or being cut.
   - _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._
35. With on, negative about or hostile to someone or something, having turned against them. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Having a bad opinion of someone or something, used with 'on'.
   - _The critics were down on the film from the start._
   - _He's down on anything that costs money._
38. Of a person, especially a soldier or police officer: wounded and unable to move normally, or killed. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Of a person, hurt so badly that they cannot 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._

## Verb

10. To knock or bring to the ground; to fell.
   - Simple: To knock something or someone to the ground.
   - _The pilot downed two enemy planes._
   - _It took three men to down the bull._
12. To lower something or lay it aside.
   - Simple: To bring something lower or set it to one side.
   - _When the pay offer was rejected, the dockworkers downed tools for a week._
   - _At noon everyone will down tools and march._
16. To defeat, overpower, or humble someone or something.
   - Simple: To defeat an opponent or bring a proud person low.
   - _The home team must down their old rivals on the last day of the season to win the league title._
   - _After downing the favorites in the semifinal, the young team went on to lift the trophy._
24. To drink or swallow, especially in one go and to the bottom of the glass. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To drink something quickly, all in one go.
   - _They downed their coffees and ran for the bus._
   - _He can down a pint in four seconds._

## Noun

22. 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.
   - Simple: Soft, fluffy feathers on young birds and under the outer feathers of adult birds, used to fill jackets and quilts.
   - _A down sleeping bag packs small and keeps you warm._
   - _The nest was lined with down from the mother's breast._
27. In American and Canadian football, one play, from the snap of the ball to the whistle that ends it.
   - Simple: In American and Canadian football, one play, from the snap to the whistle.
   - _The offense has four downs to gain ten yards._
   - _On fourth down they chose to punt._
33. The part of a price paid at the time of purchase, with the rest following later.
   - Simple: A down payment, the first part of a price paid at once.
   - _The bank wanted a bigger down than we had._
   - _Her parents helped with the down, and she has covered the mortgage payments ever since._
36. A hill, in England especially a bare, rounded chalk hill, often in the plural and in place names. *(dialectal, Australia, Southern England)*
   - Simple: A hill, especially a rounded chalk hill with no trees on it.
   - _Sheep grazed the down above the village._
   - _The South Downs run parallel to the coast._
37. A negative aspect of something; a downside.
   - Simple: A bad side or bad part of something.
   - _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._
39. In a crossword, a clue whose answer runs vertically in the grid.
   - Simple: In a crossword, a clue whose answer goes from top to bottom.
   - _Seventeen down had me stuck for twenty minutes._
   - _The downs in today's puzzle were far easier than the acrosses._
40. The soft, fine hair on the face when it first begins to grow.
   - Simple: The soft, thin hair that first grows on a face.
   - _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._

## Other meanings

- (adverb) Out of a large city or the capital toward the provinces or countryside, whatever the actual compass direction.
- (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.
- (adverb) Onward in the same line, keeping straight on.
- (adverb) On a railway, heading from the main terminal end of a line toward the end where milepost numbers get higher.
- (adverb) Leaving Oxford or Cambridge University, for a vacation or for good.
- (adverb) Toward the opposing team's end of the playing area in ball games.
- (adverb) So as to make something smaller, lighter or less bulky, as when slimming or boiling a liquid away.
- (adverb) So as to silence or overpower someone through intimidation, as by shouting or staring.
- (adverb) In a crossword, running vertically from top to bottom, as opposed to across.
- (adverb) Used alone as a command telling someone to drop low, take cover or get off something.
- (preposition) Southward along or through a place, as when traveling the length of a coast.
- (preposition) Following the current of a river toward its mouth.
- (adjective) Of a cow or similar animal, lying on the ground and unable to get up.
- (adjective) Of an aircraft, forced out of the sky by a crash, mechanical failure or enemy fire.
- (adjective) Serving a sentence behind bars.
- (adjective) In baseball or cricket, put out, as when counting dismissals, as in one down, two to go.
- (adjective) Trusted and loyal within a street or gang community, and accepted by its members.
- (adjective) Utter, complete or out-and-out.
- (adjective) Of a train, heading from the main terminal end of a line toward the end where milepost numbers get higher.
- (verb) To shoot or knock an aircraft or other airborne object out of the sky, as with a missile.
- (verb) To belittle or criticize someone.
- (verb) To move lower or descend.
- (verb) In American or Canadian football, to make the ball dead and end the play, for example by kneeling while holding it.
- (verb) To get a ball to drop into the cup in golf or a pocket in pool or snooker.
- (noun) A grudge or hostile attitude held against someone.
- (noun) A drug that slows the nervous system, such as a sedative or tranquilizer.
- (noun) The drinking of a whole glass or can in one go without stopping.
- (noun) In a casino or cardroom, a dealer's stint at one table before moving on to another, often about half an hour.
- (noun) A ground-floor room in a two-story house, as in a small home with two rooms on each level.
- (noun) The second-lightest quark, carrying an electric charge of minus one third of a proton's charge.
- (noun) An open grassy area, especially one used as a racecourse, usually in the plural.
- (noun) Open, rolling land near the coast with poor sandy soil and short fine grass, used mostly as sheep pasture. Usually in the plural.
- (noun) The fine soft hairs on some plants, or the fluffy tuft attached to seeds such as those of the thistle.
- (noun) A bed, pillow or other thing filled with soft feathers, or anything that gives comfort and rest.
- (verb) To pad or decorate something with soft fine feathers.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–21, 23–35, 37–39** — From Middle English doun, from Old English dūne ('down'), a shortened form of adūne ('down, downward'), which came from earlier ofdūne ('down'), literally 'off the hill', from of ('off of') plus dūn ('hill, dune').
**Meaning 36** — From Old English dūn ('hill'), from a West Germanic word for a sandhill or dune, of uncertain origin: perhaps Germanic, perhaps borrowed from Celtic *dūnom ('stronghold'), as in Welsh din and Irish dún ('fort'). It is related to Dutch duin and German Düne ('dune').
**Meanings 22, 40** — Proto-Germanic *dūnaz ("down"), from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰewh₂-, gave Old Norse dúnn, which Middle English took as doun. German Daune and Danish dun ("down") are cognates.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/down (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).