down

adverb

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\ ˈdau̇n

Definition of down

(Entry 1 of 9)

1a(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

5a : to or in a lower or worse condition or status held down by her lack of education

b —used to indicate thoroughness or completion dusted down the housedescribed 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 to the ground

: perfectly, completely that suits me down to the ground

down

preposition

Definition of down (Entry 2 of 9)

: 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

verb

downed; downing; downs

Definition of down (Entry 3 of 9)

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

adjective

Definition of down (Entry 4 of 9)

1a(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

2a : 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

5a 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 culture— J. E. White

6 : being on record you're down for two tickets

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

down

noun (1)

Definition of down (Entry 5 of 9)

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

noun (2)

Definition of down (Entry 6 of 9)

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

noun (3)

Definition of down (Entry 7 of 9)

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

noun (4)

Definition of Down (Entry 8 of 9)

: down syndrome —usually used attributively a Down baby

Down

geographical name

\ ˈdau̇n

Definition of Down (Entry 9 of 9)

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about down

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Synonyms & Antonyms for down

Synonyms: Adverb

Synonyms: Verb

Synonyms: Adjective

Synonyms: Noun (1)

Synonyms: Noun (2)

bummer,
downer

Synonyms: Noun (3)

Antonyms: Adverb

Antonyms: Adjective

Antonyms: Noun (2)

upper

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.

First Known Use of down

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

History and Etymology for down

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

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Cite this Entry

“Down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for down

down

adverb

English Language Learners Definition of down

(Entry 1 of 4)

: from a higher to a lower place or position

: in a low position or place

: to or toward the ground or floor

down

preposition

English Language Learners Definition of down (Entry 2 of 4)

: from a higher to a lower part of (something)

: along the course or path of (something)

down

verb

English Language Learners Definition of down (Entry 3 of 4)

: to cause (something) to fall to the ground

informal : to eat or drink (something) especially quickly

American football : to cause (a football) to be out of play

down

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of down (Entry 4 of 4)

: in a low place or position : on the ground or floor

: going downward

: lower in price or value

See the full definition for down in the English Language Learners Dictionary

down

adverb

\ ˈdau̇n

Kids Definition of down

(Entry 1 of 7)

1 : toward or in a lower position He jumped up and down.

2 : to a lying or sitting position Please sit down.

3 : toward or to the ground, floor, or bottom She fell down.

4 : below the horizon The sun went down.

5 : to or toward the south We're heading down to Florida.

6 : in or into the stomach They gulped down lunch.

7 : as a down payment I paid five dollars down.

8 : on paper Write this down.

9 : to a lower level or rate Turn the volume down. Slow down.

10 : to a weaker or worse condition The quality of their food has gone down.

11 : from a past time These stories were handed down.

12 : to or in a state of less activity Everyone quiet down, please.

13 : in a way that limits movement Tie the load down.

down

preposition

Kids Definition of down (Entry 2 of 7)

1 : from a higher to a lower point of something She climbed down the ladder.

2 : along the course or path of We walked down the beach.

down

verb

downed; downing

Kids Definition of down (Entry 3 of 7)

1 : to go or cause to go or come to the ground Wind downed the power line.

2 : eat sense 1 They downed their lunch.

3 : defeat entry 1 sense 2 Voters downed the new law.

down

adjective

Kids Definition of down (Entry 4 of 7)

1 : in a low position The window shades are down.

2 : directed or going downward the down escalator

3 : at a lower level Sales were down.

4 : having a lower score Our team is down by two.

5 : sad sense 1 You look so down. What's wrong?

6 : not working The system is down.

7 : finished or completed I have two down, and two to go.

8 : learned completely I have the dance steps down.

down

noun

Kids Definition of down (Entry 5 of 7)

: a low or falling period Life has its ups and downs.

down

noun

Kids Definition of down (Entry 6 of 7)

: a high area of land with low hills and no trees —usually used in pl. the grassy downs

down

noun

Kids Definition of down (Entry 7 of 7)

1 : soft fluffy feathers goose down

2 : small soft hairs the down of a peach

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down

Definition of down

Synonyms & Antonyms for down

Examples of down in a Sentence

First Known Use of down

History and Etymology for down

Learn More about down

Dictionary Entries near down

Statistics for down

English Language Learners Definition of down

Kids Definition of down

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impunity

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down

Definition of down

Synonyms & Antonyms for down

Examples of down in a Sentence

First Known Use of down

History and Etymology for down

Learn More about down

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

Are You Ready for Some Football (Words)?

Dictionary Entries near down

Phrases Related to down

Statistics for down

English Language Learners Definition of down

Kids Definition of down

WORD OF THE DAY

impunity

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler

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Set your young readers up for lifelong success

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'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'?