downgrade

1 of 2

noun

down·​grade ˈdau̇n-ˌgrād 

1

: a downward grade (as of a road)

2

: a descent toward an inferior state

a career on the downgrade

downgrade

2 of 2

verb

downgraded; downgrading; downgrades

transitive verb

1

: to lower in quality, value, status, or extent

2

: minimize, depreciate

Synonyms of downgrade

Noun

• deterioration
• decline
• degradation
• declination

Verb

• demote
• reduce

Examples of downgrade in a Sentence

Noun

a downgrade in the company's stock prices

a singing career on the downgrade

Verb

The restaurant was downgraded from three to two stars.

She didn't intend to downgrade the importance of her colleague's work.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Several aldermen raised concerns about recent service downgrades shifting advanced units in their wards to more basic services. — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

The downgrade is due to pressures on referral traffic as AI supplants traditional internet searching at the dominant search engine Google. — Sean Conlon,liz Napolitano,hugh Leask,justina Lee, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026

Verb

Bank of America downgrades TripAdvisor to underperform from buy Bank of America said growth is slowing for the online travel website company. — Michael Bloom, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2026

Debra Silverstein, 50th, warned a fifth of the city’s fire trucks were downgraded on Halloween. — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for downgrade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

Kids Definition

downgrade

1 of 2 noun

down·​grade -ˌgrād 

1

: a downward slope

2

: a lowering toward a worse condition

a neighborhood on the downgrade

downgrade adverb

downgrade

2 of 2 verb

: to lower in grade, rank, or standing