downgrade

noun

down·grade | \ ˈdau̇n-ˌgrād

Definition of downgrade

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a downward grade (as of a road)

2 : a descent toward an inferior state a career on the downgrade

downgrade

verb

downgraded; downgrading; downgrades

Definition of downgrade (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to lower in quality, value, status, or extent

2 : minimize, depreciate

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about downgrade

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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: Noun

The Rift S upgrades some stats and downgrades others, with 1280x1440 per eye, or a total resolution of 2560x1440. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Hands-on: The $399 Oculus Rift S kicks off the next gen of PC-based VR by appealing to the masses," 20 Mar. 2019 The downgrade leaves the highly indebted Pemex’s rating at... — Anthony Harrup, WSJ, "Fitch Cuts Mexico’s Pemex Rating by Two Notches," 29 Jan. 2019 Internal shots from the FCC show a 2820mAh battery on the G7 Play, which sounds like an extremely disappointing downgrade from the 4000mAh battery included in the G6 Play. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Moto G7 Play pops up at the FCC with notch design, dramatically smaller battery," 27 Nov. 2018 Despite his army of fans, Musk risks coming off as tone deaf to mounting investor concerns after a Moody’s Investor Service downgrade last week. — Bloomberg.com, "Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day," 2 Apr. 2018 The downgrade was the result of a sputtering Chinese economy, U.S.-China trade tensions and Brexit, according to the IMF. — Christopher Alessi, WSJ, "Oil Rises as Supply Concerns Outweigh Rising Stockpiles," 25 Jan. 2019 The downgrade would expose Pakistan to potential American sanctions, but Pompeo waived those penalties, citing U.S. national interests. — Munir Ahmed, The Seattle Times, "Pakistan rejects US rebuke on religious freedoms," 11 Dec. 2018 The downgrades were among many reasons the government has tightened some curbs on borrowing since the end of the autumn. — Keith Bradsher, New York Times, "As China Curbs Borrowing, Growth Shows Signs of Faltering," 14 June 2018 The news hasn't gone down too well with supporters who will see the 26-year-old as a significant downgrade on their current talisman Riyad Mahrez. — SI.com, "Leicester City Supporters React After the Foxes Are Linked With a Move For Crystal Palace Winger," 17 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

National analysts downgraded Democrats’ chances of winning the Nebraska race as a result, and some Democrats have fretted that pushing left could cost them in other swing districts. — Jonathan Tamari, Philly.com, "Center and left clash in key South Jersey House race," 24 May 2018 Those who actively use local access on their Harmony Hubs may choose to not upgrade to the latest firmware, while some have already attempted to downgrade to older firmware versions. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Logitech disables local access on Harmony Hubs, breaks automation systems [Update]," 19 Dec. 2018 The slowdown prompted scientists to downgrade their alert level for the mountain. — Fox News, "Hurricane Lane created a steamy white-out at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano," 27 Aug. 2018 Potter said if the patient arrives and does not require at least 30 minutes of critical care, the trauma center is supposed to downgrade the fee to a regular emergency room visit and bill at a lower rate, but many do not do so. — Jenny Gold, Vox, "A baby was treated with a nap and a bottle of formula. His parents received an $18,000 bill.," 20 July 2018 Potter said if the patient arrives and does not require at least 30 minutes of critical care, the trauma center is supposed to downgrade the fee to a regular emergency room visit and bill at a lower rate, but many do not do so. — Jenny Gold, Kaiser Health News And Sarah Kliff, Washington Post, "A Baby Was Treated With A Nap And A Bottle Of Formula. The Bill Was $18,000.," 2 July 2018 Less than 10 miles east of the WSU campus, the Idaho Vandals recently weighed a similar problem and decided to downgrade in football. — Christopher Schnaars, USA TODAY, "Is overspending catching up to these Power 5 schools?," 28 June 2018 S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday downgraded its long-term credit rating on GE by two notches to BBB-plus, putting the struggling industrial company three notches above junk debt. — Thomas Gryta, WSJ, "Once Again, GE’s Dividend Is the Focus of Investors," 2 Oct. 2018 Tropical Storm Florence was downgraded from a dangerous Category 1 storm Friday, but millions have still been affected. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "As Florence weakens, live surf cam videos show impact on Carolinas," 15 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'downgrade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

26 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for downgrade

The first known use of downgrade was in 1847

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More Definitions for downgrade

downgrade

noun

Financial Definition of downgrade

What It Is

A downgrade is an announcement of an analyst lowering their opinion on the desirability of a company as an investment. It can apply to either debt or equity.

How It Works

Downgrades can come from a variety of sources: brokerage firms, research firms, ratings agencies, etc.

Downgrades of equities can happen for several reasons, but usually they center on industry, regulatory, technology, or management changes that the analyst feels will hinder the issuer's future performance. These factors create fundamental shifts in the analyst's outlook, making the security appear either fully valued or overvalued.

Debt downgrades generally come from ratings agencies such as Moody's or Standard & Poor's (S&P). A downgrade from one of them is a major signal that an issuer is more likely to default on its debt. If a bond is downgraded to a level below investment grade (aka, "junk"), there is often a serious sell off of those bonds, because most institutional investors are forbidden from owning junk bonds.

Why It Matters

Ratings have a large influence on the demand of a security. Downgrades (or even rumors of downgrades) tell investors that a security is now believed to be riskier, which may have a negative impact on the security's price. In turn, downgrades often lead to less trading activity and lowered liquidity.

Source: Investing Answers

downgrade

noun