# downstream

Pronunciation: US say "down-STREEM" /ˌdaʊnˈstɹim/; UK

## Adverb

1. In the direction in which a river or stream naturally flows.
   - Simple: In the same direction that a river or stream flows.
   - _The fishermen paddled downstream toward the wider part of the river._
   - _Fallen logs were swept downstream after the heavy rain._

## Adjective

2. Positioned further along in the flow of a river, stream, bloodstream, or other fluid.
   - Simple: Located further along the path that a river or other liquid flows.
   - _Pollution from the plant reached the downstream wetlands in days._
   - _The surgeon traced the clot to a downstream blood vessel._
3. Happening later than something earlier and usually caused or shaped by it.
   - Simple: Happening later because of something that came before.
   - _Cutting the budget created downstream problems for every department._
   - _Analysts warned about the downstream impact on local employment._
4. Moving in the direction from a server to the client device.
   - Simple: Going from a main computer to your own device.
   - _The router reported a downstream rate of 200 megabits per second._
   - _Video services depend on plenty of downstream bandwidth._
5. Positioned along a DNA molecule toward its 3′ end.
   - Simple: Located toward the 3′ end of a piece of DNA.
   - _A mutation in the downstream sequence disrupted the protein._
   - _The promoter sits just before the downstream coding region._

## Verb

6. To make a new version or patch available to the developers and users downstream who depend on the software.
   - Simple: To release a software update to other developers and users who build on it.
   - _The maintainers downstream each fix once it passes testing._
   - _The project finally downstreamed the long-awaited update to its users._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To flow downward as a stream.

## Origin

Formed from the prefix "down-" combined with "stream."

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