down

1 of 8

adverb

1
a(1)
: toward or in a lower physical position
Don't look down.
Pull down the blind.
(2)
: to a lying or sitting position
Please sit down.
(3)
: toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom
burned the house down
fell down
b
: as a down payment
paid $10 down
c
: on paper
put down what he says
2
: in a direction that is the opposite of up: such as
a
: southward
traveled down to South Africa
b
: to or toward a point away from the speaker or the speaker's point of reference
walked down to my neighbor's house
c
: in or into the stomach
can't keep food down
3
: to a lesser degree, level, or rate
cool down tensions
Try to calm down.
4
: to or toward a lower position in a series
seems to be far down on their agenda
moved down in the pop charts
5
a
: to or in a lower or worse condition or status
students held down by a lack of social support
b
used to indicate thoroughness or completion
dusted down the house
described him down to his haircut
6
: from a past time
stories passed down by word of mouth
7
: to or in a state of less activity or prominence
scaled down our plans
8
: to a concentrated state
got the report down to three pages
9
: into defeat
voted the motion down

down

2 of 8

preposition

: down (see down entry 1) along, around, through, toward, in, into, or on
fell down the stairs
write down the phone number
down the years
grew up down the block from each other
pacing up and down the room

down

3 of 8

verb

downed; downing; downs

transitive verb

1
: to cause to go or come down (see down entry 1) : such as
a
: to cause to fall by or as if by shooting : bring down sense 1
downed the enemy helicopter
b
: consume sense 3
downing slices of pizza
2
football : to cause (a ball) to be out of play
downed the ball at the five-yard line
3
: defeat
down a proposal

intransitive verb

: to go down

down

4 of 8

adjective

1
a(1)
: occupying a low position
specifically : lying on the ground
down timber
(2)
: directed or going downward
attendance is down
b
: lower in price
c
football : not being in play because of wholly stopped progress or because the officials stop the play
The ball was down.
d
: defeated or trailing an opponent (as in points scored)
down by two runs
e
baseball : out
two down in the top of the third inning
2
a
: reduced or low in activity, frequency, or intensity
a down economy
b
: not operating or able to function
The computer is down.
c
: depressed, dejected
feeling a bit down
also : depressing
a down movie
d
: sick
down with flu
3
: done, finished
eight down and two to go
4
: completely mastered
had her lines down
often used with pat
got the answers down pat
5
a
slang : cool sense 7
a down dude
b
slang : understanding or supportive of something or someone
usually used with with
trying to prove that they were down with hip-hop cultureJ. E. White
6
: being on record
you're down for two tickets

down

5 of 8

noun (1)

1
: descent, depression
emotional ups and downs
the ups and downs of the business cycle
2
: an instance of putting down someone (such as an opponent in wrestling)
3
football
a
: a complete play to advance the ball
b
: one of a series of four attempts in American football or three attempts in Canadian football to advance the ball 10 yards
caught the ball on third down
4
chiefly British : dislike, grudge
5
: downer
6
physics : a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of -¹/₃ and that is one of the constituents of a nucleon

down

6 of 8

noun (2)

1
: an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil
usually used in plural
sheep grazing on the grassy downs
2
often capitalized : a sheep of any breed originating in the downs of southern England

down

7 of 8

noun (3)

1
: a covering of soft fluffy feathers
also : these feathers
goose down pillows
2
: something soft and fluffy like down
a trace of down on his cheeks

Down

8 of 8

noun (4)

: down syndrome
usually used attributively
a Down baby
Phrases
down to the ground
: perfectly, completely
that suits me down to the ground
down on
: having a low opinion of or dislike for
The coach has been down on him lately.
down on one's luck
: experiencing misfortune and especially financial distress

Examples of down in a Sentence

Adverb The land slopes down to the sea. She called down to her friends in the street below. They set the cake down on the table. Lay down your book for a minute. We watched the sun go down. We keep our wine collection down in the basement. What's going on down there? He fell down and hurt his knee. Climb down out of that tree! He knocked him down with one punch. Preposition Sweat dripped down her neck. The children ran down the hill. She fell down the stairs. He climbed down the ladder. He spilled mustard down the front of his shirt. Her hair hung loosely down her back. Go down the road and turn left. We grew up down the block from each other. The bathroom is halfway down the hall on the right. His pitches were right down the middle of the plate. Verb The storm downed power lines throughout the city. a large number of downed power lines They were downing beers and watching the game on TV. The quarterback downed the ball to stop the clock. Adjective The window shades were down. The candy is down on the bottom shelf. There was a pile of dirty clothes down on the floor. She took the down escalator. These changes should help keep prices down. Stocks are down again today.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the court should turn the national temperature down, not up. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 5 Mar. 2024 Some of the most popular insulation materials include down, fleece, or synthetic material all of which can help keep kids warm during the cold winter months. Casey Clark, Parents, 5 Mar. 2024 What people are saying on a platform that's still working Was Instagram down today? Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2024 Look at what Joe Biden has done for America: He’s created more jobs than any president in history and inflation is down, the Shamrock Shake is back and Beyoncé has gone country. Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024 That's all Ru said, just kidding with her, because that's what Ru does when the cameras are down. EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024 Spirit’s stock price has lost more than half its value since the ruling that blocked the merger and was down nearly 11 percent on Monday. J. Edward Moreno, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 From the waist down, the protagonist is barefoot and nearly naked. Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 There are some divisive changes to debate, but for me the good outweighs any issues as deep down Rebirth does enhance the tone and mood of the original game. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024
Preposition
Try not to think of me as gone, just think of me as moving down the block. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 To get to Centre Court, players must walk down a long hall lined with photos of Wimbledon’s champions. Abby Aguirre, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024 And which couples didn't even make it down the aisle? Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 The first goal of the night was a microcosm of Mbappé’s skillset – exploding down the left side of the pitch before bamboozling his defender with some quick feet before lashing it across goal into the bottom corner in the 15th minute. Ben Morse, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 Though ballot counting is still underway, the final update provided Tuesday by Sacramento county election officials showed Sacramento voters on their way to rejecting Measure C. At 8 p.m. when the polls closed, the measure was behind with 60% of voters voting down the sole county ballot measure. Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024 Also, at some point down the road, Schumaker said Victor Mesa Jr. could be an option. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 The legendary restaurant is busy year-round, but on this day lines stretch down the sidewalk. Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 Every day, our neighborhoods are changing: A grocery store closes down the corner. Eva Wen, Journal Sentinel, 6 Mar. 2024
Verb
Heavy rain also loosens the soil, causing sinkholes, mudslides and downed trees, which can make a route dangerous or impassable. Michael Charboneau, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Report power outages and downed wires by calling 800-423-6634 or 989-733-8515. Brian Manzullo, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2024 Decisions made while downing cocktails can come back to haunt you… Or, in Karen Pittman’s case, to haunt your castmates. Shania Russell, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024 Azerbaijan is widely believed to have downed an Armenian Iskander in 2020 with a Barak 8. Paul Iddon, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 And from downing shrimp dumplings to taping Lunar New Year greetings in Chinese, the candidates — former Rep. Tom Suozzi and Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip — are openly chasing their support in a district that covers parts of Queens and New York City’s Long Island suburbs. Celeste Katz Marston, NBC News, 13 Feb. 2024 Johnson downs 100 or so supplements daily and performs about two dozen exercises. Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024 Caro had beaten Carini 6-2 in their dual meet, but Carini won the Division 1 CIF title last week by downing Caro 5-1. Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2024 On the day of the crash, von Ohain and Rossiter played 21 holes of golf, downing multiple drinks along the way. Talia Trackim, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The film follows a down and out actor living in Tokyo, who is hired as the token American guy for a Japanese rental family company providing professional stand-in services. Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024 The multi-billion dollar screen protector industry would like to keep that on the down low. Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 Lewis Hamilton dated Nicole Scherzinger for seven years before splitting in 2015 Lewis Hamilton prefers to keep his dating life on the down low. Alex Gurley, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024 San Francisco converted just three-of-12 (25%) third down attempts. Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024 If someone wants to add collagen powder to coffee and the taste is acceptable, there is no down side. Sheah Rarback, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2024 The other way to access this and other manual controls is in the hidden menu, seen when tapping the down arrow on the top of your screen in camera mode. Lauren Breedlove, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2024 Feather Feather pillows are more affordable than their down counterparts because feathers are more abundant than down and can be derived from more species of birds. Brianna Kamienski, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 After a down year (for them) in 2022, the Chiefs responded with excellent season-long numbers on special teams in 2023. Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2024
Noun
Athenian’s run to the title game had its ups and downs. Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 Life may have its ups and downs, but JoJo is ready to take them all in stride. Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 After 14 years of ups and downs — including humiliation, incarceration, and near-death experiences — Darwiche recovered. Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024 Once the beating heart of the region, downtown Los Angeles has survived multiple eras of ups and downs, and remains a place in constant transformation. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Downey He's had box-office success, and his share of ups and downs, but Downey doesn't have an Oscar. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 The last few years have seen a wave of ups and downs for homebuyers and sellers–from homeowners who rode to the height of the sellers’ market during the pandemic to buyers who contended with the most historic market shift in 40 years. Nick Boniakowski, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024 Talk about ups and downs, this one is showing quite a months-long battle between buyers and sellers. John Navin, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Real estate is an industry known for having ups and downs—every year brings changes. Jesse Sasomsup, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Adverb, Preposition, Verb, Adjective, and Noun (1)

Middle English doun, from Old English dūne, short for adūne, of dūne, from a- (from of), of off, from + dūne, dative of dūn hill

Noun (2)

Middle English doun hill, from Old English dūn — see down entry 1

Noun (3)

Middle English doun, from Old Norse dūnn

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Preposition

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun (1)

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (4)

1987, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of down was before the 12th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near down

Cite this Entry

“Down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

down

1 of 7 noun
: a rolling grassy upland
usually used in plural

down

2 of 7 adverb
1
a
: toward or in a lower position
b
: to a lying or sitting position
c
: toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom
2
: as a down payment
paid $10 down
3
: in a direction opposite to up
add the numbers across and down
4
: to or in a lower or worse condition
held down by a bad economy
5
: from a past time
heirlooms that have been handed down
6
: to or in a state of less activity
excitement died down

down

3 of 7 adjective
1
a
: being in a low position
especially : lying on the ground
b
: directed or going downward
a down escalator
c
: being at a lower level
sales are down
2
a
: low in spirits : sad
feeling a bit down
b
: sick sense 1a
down with flu
3
: being finished or come to an end
eight down and two to go

down

4 of 7 preposition
: down along : down through : down toward : down in : down into : down on
down the road

down

5 of 7 noun
1
: a low or falling period
the ups and downs of life
2
: one of a series of four plays that a football team gets to advance the ball ten yards

down

6 of 7 verb
1
: to go or cause to go or come down
2
3
: to cause (a football) to be out of play

down

7 of 7 noun
1
: a covering of soft fluffy feathers
2
: something soft and fluffy like down
Etymology

Noun

Old English dūn "hill"

Adverb

Old English dūne "down," shortened from adūne, literally, "off the hill," from a- "off" and dūne, form of dūn "hill"

Noun

Middle English doun "down, feathers"; of Norse origin

Geographical Definition

Down

geographical name

1
district of southeastern Northern Ireland bordering the Irish Sea; established 1974 area 250 square miles (650 square kilometers), population 69,750
2
traditional county of southeastern Northern Ireland

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