# download

Pronunciation: US say "DOWN-lohd" /ˈdaʊnˌloʊd/; UK say "down-LOHD" /ˌdaʊnˈləʊd/

## Verb

1. To transfer data to a local computer or device from a remote one over a network.
   - Simple: To copy a file or other data onto your computer or phone from the internet.
   - _Click the link to download the report as a PDF._
   - _Researchers downloaded gigabytes of satellite imagery from the agency's servers overnight._
4. To install software on a device, especially by forcing a program to load onto it. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: To put a program onto a device, often without the user choosing it.
   - _The IT department downloaded the monitoring tool onto every workstation without asking anyone._
   - _Engineers download the new firmware to each robot on the assembly line._
5. To copy data to or from removable media such as a memory card, disc, or flash drive. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: To copy files onto or off a memory card, disk, or USB drive.
   - _He downloaded the security footage to an external drive for the investigators._
   - _Technicians download the flight logs from the recorder card after every test run._
6. To shift a government service or asset, together with authority over it and the duty to run it, from a higher to a lower level of government. *(Canada)*
   - Simple: To hand a government service or property, and the job of running it, to a lower level of government.
   - _The provincial government downloaded social housing onto municipalities during the budget cuts._
   - _Mayors warned that the plan would download transit costs without providing new revenue._
7. To send data from a given computer to a remote one; a synonym of upload. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: To send a file or other data from your device to another computer over a network.
   - _When you finish editing the slides on your laptop, please download them to the team's online folder so everyone can review them._
   - _Dad downloaded the recipe to his blog last night._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "DOWN-lohd" US /ˈdaʊnˌloʊd/, UK /ˈdaʊnˌləʊd/

2. A file or program that has been, or can be, copied onto your own device from a remote one over a network: the item itself, not the act of copying it.
   - Simple: A file that you have copied, or plan to copy, onto your device from the internet.
   - _The download sat unopened in his folder for weeks._
   - _Free downloads of the album were available during the first week of release._
3. A transfer of a file to a local computer or device from a remote one through a network connection.
   - Simple: The act of copying a file onto your computer or phone from the internet.
   - _The download stalled at ninety percent and had to be restarted._
   - _Large downloads can slow other traffic on a shared connection._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To use a reduced charge of propellant, below the designed load, when loading a gun, especially a muzzle-loader.

## Origin

Formed from "down-" and "load," with the verb first appearing around 1962 in the Wichita Falls (Texas) Times and the noun around 1977 in Scientific American.

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