descend to
phrasal verb
descended to; descending to; descends to
1
formal
: to become owned by (someone) when the former owner has died : to become an inheritance to
The estate descended to her from her grandparents.
2
: to lower oneself by doing (something)
She was desperate for money, but she would not descend to asking her friends for help.
Examples of descend to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gregory spent two months with the penguin colony and witnessed most chicks using ice ramps to descend to sea level for food.
—
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Bertie Gregory spent two months with an emperor penguin colony on an ice shelf in Antarctica, watching most of the chicks descend to sea level for food using ice ramps.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2025
About 30 seconds later, data captured by surveillance-broadcast systems on board showed that Nguyen was decreasing in her turn, when the plane suddenly began to rapidly descend to the right.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 25 Aug. 2025
Stone pathways meander through gardens and meditation areas that include several rock fireplaces, a barrel sauna and cold plunge, a koi pond, and a greenhouse, while two stairways descend to more than 1,000 feet of private shoreline.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for descend to
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Bertie Gregory spent two months with an emperor penguin colony on an ice shelf in Antarctica, watching most of the chicks descend to sea level for food using ice ramps.
—Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2025
About 30 seconds later, data captured by surveillance-broadcast systems on board showed that Nguyen was decreasing in her turn, when the plane suddenly began to rapidly descend to the right.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 25 Aug. 2025
Stone pathways meander through gardens and meditation areas that include several rock fireplaces, a barrel sauna and cold plunge, a koi pond, and a greenhouse, while two stairways descend to more than 1,000 feet of private shoreline.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for descend to
Cite this Entry
“Descend to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/descend%20to. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share