comedown

1 of 2

noun

come·​down ˈkəm-ˌdau̇n How to pronounce comedown (audio)
: a descent in rank or dignity

come down

2 of 2

verb

came down; come down; coming down; comes down

intransitive verb

1
: to lose or fall in estate or condition
has come down in the world
2
a
: to pass by tradition
a story that has come down from medieval times
b
: to pass from a usually high source
word came down that the strike was over
3
: to place oneself in opposition
came down hard on gambling
4
a
: to deal with a subject directly
when you come down to it, we all depend on others
b
: to reduce itself : amount
it comes down to this
5
: to become ill
came down with measles
6
7
: go on, happen
what's coming down

Examples of comedown in a Sentence

Noun For a man who was once a very popular actor, working in a nightclub is quite a comedown. after a rapid rise to stardom, the rock band's comedown was just as quick Verb let's wait and see what comes down at the meeting
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
There are Reddit threads dedicated to post-show comedowns. Jenna Wortham, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 The set’s exhilarating energy is matched by Barker’s unusually smooth mixing and unerring sense of pace; the lush finale makes for the perfect gentle comedown, and a return to Barker’s typically harmonic wheelhouse. Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 22 Aug. 2023 The pact marks a victory for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and a humbling comedown for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, which had been growing in size and recognition before a clash between the two men set off a series of events that shook investor confidence in the latter's firm. Heard Editors, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2022 The comedown: After stimulus boom, Americans face a darkening economy These trends, however, have been in place for much of the president’s tenure. Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 20 July 2023 Of course, the sense of malaise may, in part, be a comedown from the frantic bidding wars of the last few years, which were fueled by historically low interest rates. Curbed, 19 Apr. 2023 San Francisco – After leading the majors with 107 wins last season, the Giants have had a giant comedown. Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 After all, there’s no better post-Pride comedown than to remind us why Pride was a riot in the first place. Vulture, 28 June 2023 The pact marks a victory for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and a humbling comedown for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, which had been growing in size and recognition before a clash between the two men set off a series of events that shook investor confidence in his firm. Caitlin Ostroff, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2022
Verb
Much of the fuss came down to the fact that, of the more than a hundred thousand poems submitted every year, the magazine prints only around three hundred. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 That might come down to how the Hawkeyes perform on the field. Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023 The race was coming down to the final mark, when the Italians veered too high around the bend, the nose of their boat submerged and the cockpit filled with water. Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 4 Dec. 2023 Despite the cold gushes and unexpected flurries from yesterday’s wintry weather, more than 700 people in their best black-tie ensembles came down to Cipriani Wall Street to celebrate Giving Tuesday at the annual UNICEF Gala. Maia Torres, Vogue, 29 Nov. 2023 While more rate increases are always possible, most Wall Street experts say the Fed is more likely gearing up for cuts—and that CD rates will in turn come down, too. Mallika Mitra, wsj.com, 29 Nov. 2023 Bad Surgeon offers some hints, which mostly come down to issues of enabling. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023 As these costs come down and scale ensues, Hasan said the business should be on track to have a site which can process a million tons of carbon per year by 2030. Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 27 Nov. 2023 The nation is divided on much more than age, though, and the presidential election will come down to much more than that next year. Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comedown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1840, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of comedown was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near comedown

comedo

comedown

come down

Cite this Entry

“Comedown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comedown. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

comedown

1 of 2 noun
come·​down ˈkəm-ˌdau̇n How to pronounce comedown (audio)
: a falling in status, position, or reputation

come down

2 of 2 verb
(ˌ)kəm-ˈdau̇n
: to fall sick
came down with the flu

Legal Definition

come down

intransitive verb
came down; coming down
: to be announced
the decision came down from the Supreme Court
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!