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

Cumbia, a vibrant blend of music and dance, took shape along its banks at El Banco, where drummers still play the rhythms that traveled downstream to Barranquilla and eventually the rest of the world. — Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026

Sullivan Creek is a tributary of the Flint River, which provides drinking water to more than 400,000 people downstream of the airport. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Crews applied a neutralizing agent to the affected ground and began monitoring water quality downstream in accordance with Georgia Environmental Protection Division requirements. — Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

The area is at the bottom of the national park in the inner gorge of the canyon, about 10 miles downstream from Phantom Ranch. — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026

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