go down

phrasal verb

Formsgoes down, going down, went down, gone down

16 meanings of go down

1
descendphrasal verbtransitive or intransitive
To move from a higher place to a lower one; to descend.
Go down the stairs and turn left at the bottom.
The hikers went down into the canyon before the heat of the day.
Similardescend
Oppositeascend, climb
2
decreasephrasal verbintransitive
To become lower in amount, level or value; to decrease.
The store promised that prices would go down after the holidays.
Her fever had gone down by morning, so she was able to return to school.
Similardecrease, drop, fall, decline
Oppositeincrease, rise
3
be receivedphrasal verbintransitive
To be received or accepted by others in a particular way, well or badly.
A speech like that will go down well with the voters back home.
The new dress code went down badly with the staff.
Note
It needs a word that says how the thing was received, such as well, badly or better than expected, and with names the audience: the news didn't go down well with her parents. Ideas, speeches and rules are its usual subjects; when the subject is something eaten or drunk, the phrase belongs to the British food-and-drink use.
4
stop workingphrasal verbintransitive
Of a computer system, network or machine, to stop working or go offline.
The website went down for three hours in the middle of the sale.
We can't let the payment system go down during the busiest week of the year.
Similarcrash, fail
Note
Computing and engineering use it for a whole system going out of service, not one broken part: a server, a website or a train's air-conditioning goes down, and it comes back up when restored. The time out of action is downtime, whether the outage is sudden or planned.
5
fallphrasal verbintransitive
To fall down, especially to the ground or floor.
The goalkeeper went down clutching his knee.
One punch was all it took to make the challenger go down.
Similarfall, collapse, drop
6
set (sun)phrasal verbintransitive
Of the sun, moon or another heavenly body, to sink below the horizon; to set.
We watched the moon go down behind the hills.
By the time the sun went down, the beach was nearly empty.
Similarset
Oppositerise
7
happenphrasal verbslangintransitive
To happen or take place.
Nobody will tell me what went down at the meeting last night.
I don't know how this is going to go down, but stay close to me.
Similarhappen, occur
Note
Casual talk about trouble or drama is its home, and it often comes as a question about events someone missed: what went down last night? how did the deal go down? Song lyrics and fiction use it freely, but in formal writing, happen or take place is the safer choice.
8
take blamephrasal verbintransitive
To take the blame for something, be made the scapegoat, or be sent to prison.
When the scheme fell apart, the junior accountant went down for it while his bosses walked free.
If they find his fingerprints on the gun, he'll go down for murder.
9
be rememberedphrasal verbintransitive
To be recorded or remembered, often as something in particular.
This winter will go down as one of the coldest on record.
Her speech went down in history as a turning point for the movement.
10
sink (ship)phrasal verbintransitive
Of a ship or boat, to sink.
The fishing boat went down in a storm off the coast of Maine.
The captain refused to leave the bridge and chose to go down with his ship.
Similarsink, founder
Note
Naval history is full of it, often with with all hands, meaning the whole crew was lost with the vessel, as with SMS Pommern at Jutland. The progressive describes a sinking still under way, a ship going down while it is abandoned, and a captain who goes down with his ship stays aboard to the end.

11
crash (plane)phrasal verbintransitive
Of an aircraft, to crash.
The small plane went down in the mountains during a snowstorm.
Investigators still cannot explain how a helicopter in perfect condition could go down in clear weather.
Similarcrash
Note
Aviation uses it as the plain report of a loss: the plane went down, with no word yet on why it fell or whether anyone survived. A place usually follows, such as thirty miles from shore or in the mountains. Said of a ship, the same verb means sinking, so the subject decides the sense.
12
oral sexphrasal verbintransitivewith on
To perform oral sex on someone.
The advice column answered a reader who was nervous about going down on her new boyfriend.
Some couples feel quite differently about whether to go down on each other.
Note
It is frank, informal language, not for polite company, and it always takes on and the partner: go down on someone. Without on, the words fall back to simply moving lower or one of their other meanings, so the small preposition carries the whole sexual sense.
13
losephrasal verbslangintransitive
To be soundly defeated, as in a game or contest.
"Your team is going down on Saturday!" he texted his rival.
Nobody expected the champions to go down so easily against a team of rookies.
Similarlose
Oppositewin
Note
Trash talk is its natural home, usually in the progressive and said before the contest even starts: you guys are going down! Friends and rivals throw it at each other over games of every kind, and it is rarely meant as a real threat.
14
taste goodphrasal verbcolloquialUKintransitive
Of food or drink, to be enjoyed, or otherwise received in a particular way, when eaten or drunk.
After the long walk, a cup of tea went down a treat.
A cold pint would go down nicely right now.
Note
This is relaxed British speech, and the food or drink itself is the subject, not the person enjoying it: that meal went down a treat, a cold pint would go down nicely. A treat is the signature phrase, meaning very well indeed; outside Britain, well or nicely in the same slot will sound more natural.
15
leave universityphrasal verbdatedintransitive
To leave one's university, whether for good or for some longer period, such as after the end of term.
He went down from Oxford without a degree and joined his father's firm.
Once term ended, the undergraduates would go down for the long summer break.
Note
Oxford and Cambridge had their own direction words: students went up to the university when they arrived and went down when they left, wherever they were heading next. Being sent down meant being expelled. The usage now sounds dated, and elsewhere leave or finish is the plain word.
16
phrasal verbslang
To attack another gang.

Practice

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