downloads

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of download.

   The downloads completed overnight without any errors.

   He sorted his downloads by date to find the report faster.

   Note

   The plural carries both of the noun's meanings: the transfers themselves and the files they bring. "The downloads finished overnight" counts acts of transferring. "Sorting your downloads" counts files sitting on a device. Context usually settles which is meant. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, so in a headline or caption, check whether a subject comes before it.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of download.

   The app automatically downloads updates whenever it connects to Wi-Fi.

   He downloads the latest spreadsheet from the shared drive each Monday.

   Note

   A present-tense form that almost always takes a direct object: the app downloads updates, a government downloads a service. That second pattern reflects a Canadian political use, in which responsibility for a public asset or service is handed to a lower level of government. In computing it means pulling data toward your own device. Using it for sending data away, as upload does, is nonstandard and best avoided.

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