down·grade
ˈdau̇n-ˌgrād 
1
: a downward grade (as of a road)
2
: a descent toward an inferior state
a career on the downgrade
downgraded; downgrading; downgrades
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
Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
To recap, Anastasia Beverly Hills missed a term payment on its $650 million loan in August and paid the price with downgrades to its credit rating from both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service.
—Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
Jay Woods, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
Two years later, Isla’s general practitioner became concerned that Isla had breast cancer, and referred her for urgent care at a breast clinic, where her case was downgraded.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for downgrade
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Noun
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Indonesian stock exchange CEO Iman Rachman resigned on Friday, following a rout that saw the country's share market lose $84 billion over the past two days on concerns over a possible downgrade by index provider MSCI.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
To recap, Anastasia Beverly Hills missed a term payment on its $650 million loan in August and paid the price with downgrades to its credit rating from both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service.
—Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
Expect analyst downgrades over the coming days as 71 have a buy rating with the average target being $611 — 43% above current levels.
—Jay Woods, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
Two years later, Isla’s general practitioner became concerned that Isla had breast cancer, and referred her for urgent care at a breast clinic, where her case was downgraded.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for downgrade
Cite this Entry
“Downgrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/downgrade. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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