downstream

adverb or adjective

down·​stream ˈdau̇n-ˈstrēm 

1

: in the direction of or nearer to the mouth of a stream

floating downstream

located two miles downstream

2

: in or toward the latter stages of a usually industrial process or the stages (such as marketing) after manufacture

improving profits downstream

downstream products

3

biochemistry : toward the end of a series of cellular processes : following a linked molecular event occurring in a sequence

But by looking downstream of the tumor suppressors [genes] at the proteins they influence, drug developers hope to find good targets.

—Marcia Barinaga

Examples of downstream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Quarterly results this week and commentary from company executives may have eased some of those concerns, showing that the financial benefits of AI are making their way downstream. —Ari Levy,mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025

Plaintiffs also proved that runoff and wastewater discharge from the camp risks polluting the water supply in the Miccosukee Reserved Area—where eighty percent of Tribe members reside—just a few miles downstream from the TNT site, and beyond. —Jillian Frankel, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025

For the millions of people who live downstream in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, building resiliency is key. —Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025

Many were worried about stripping precipitation out of a cloud and robbing people downstream of rain. —Hayleigh Evans, AZCentral.com, 17 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for downstream

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream
• midstream

Kids Definition

downstream

adverb or adjective

down·​stream ˈdau̇n-ˈstrēm 

: in the direction a stream is flowing

Medical Definition

downstream

adverb or adjective

down·​stream ˌdau̇n-ˈstrēm 

1

: in the same direction along a molecule of DNA or RNA as that in which transcription and translation take place and toward the end having a hydroxyl group attached to the position labeled 3′ in the terminal nucleotide

a nucleotide sequence located downstream from the regulatory gene

effects on the expression of downstream genes

compare upstream sense 1

2

: toward the end of a series of cellular processes : following a linked molecular event occurring in a sequence

But by looking downstream of the tumor suppressors [genes] at the proteins they influence, drug developers hope to find good targets.

—Marcia Barinaga, Science

The tyrosine kinase activity of phosphorylated EGFR [epidermal growth factor receptor] in cancer cells results in the phosphorylation of downstream proteins that incite cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and inhibition of apoptosis.

—Jonathan E. Dowell and John D. Minna, The New England Journal of Medicine